Ranking importance of symbols in underlying grouped and differentiated files based on content

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus identify groups of files based on symbols corresponding to an underlying data stream of original bits of data that are determined to be informationally important. The resulting symbols of a selected group are ordered according to how effectively each symbol characterizes the selected group of interest. The subset of symbols is used to find similar files from a general population of files to the files in the group of interest. Additionally, groups of common files can be identified from a general population of files and a group selected therefrom for use in identifying a subset of symbols which characterize the selected group for use as a filter to identify further like files.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to compression/decompression of data. More particularly, it relates to identifying patterns of information in a group of files which contribute most significantly to the files being grouped and utilizing the identified patters of information to find similar files from a general population.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recent data suggests that nearly eighty-five percent of all data is found in computing files and growing annually at around sixty percent. One reason for the growth is that regulatory compliance acts, statutes, etc., (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, PCI) force companies to keep file data in an accessible state for extended periods of time. However, block level operations in computers are too lowly to apply any meaningful interpretation of this stored data beyond taking snapshots and block de-duplication. While other business intelligence products have been introduced to provide capabilities greater than block-level operations, they have been generally limited to structured database analysis. They are much less meaningful when acting upon data stored in unstructured environments.

Unfortunately, entities the world over have paid enormous sums of money to create and store their data, but cannot find much of it later in instances where it is haphazardly arranged or arranged less than intuitively. Not only would locating this information bring back value, but being able to observe patterns in it might also prove valuable despites its usefulness being presently unknown. However, entities cannot expend so much time and effort in finding this data that it outweighs its usefulness. Notwithstanding this, there are still other scenarios, such as government compliance, litigation, audits, etc., that dictate certain data/information be found and produced, regardless of its cost in time, money and effort. Thus, a clear need is identified in the art to better find, organize and identify digital data, especially data left in unstructured states.

In search engine technology, large amounts of unrelated and unstructured digital data can be quickly gathered. However, most engines do little to organize the data other than give a hierarchical presentation. Also, when the engine finds duplicate versions of data, it offers few to no options on eliminating the replication or migrating/relocating redundancies. Thus, a further need in the art exists to overcome the drawbacks of search engines.

When it comes to large amounts of data, whether structured or not, compression techniques have been devised to preserve storage capacity, reduce bandwidth during transmission, etc. With modern compression algorithms, however, they simply exist to scrunch large blocks of data into smaller blocks according to their advertised compression ratios. As is known, some do it without data loss (lossless) while others do it “lossy.” None do it, unfortunately, with a view toward recognizing similarities in the data itself.

From biology, it is known that highly similar species have highly similar DNA strings. In the computing context, consider two word processing files relating to stored baseball statistics. In a first file, words might appear for a baseball batter, such as “batting average,” “on base percentage,” and “slugging percentage,” while a second file might have words for a baseball pitcher, such as “strikeouts,” “walks,” and “earned runs.” Conversely, a third file wholly unrelated to baseball, statistics or sports, may have words such as “environmental protection,” “furniture,” or whatever comes to mind. It would be exceptionally useful if, during times of compression, or upon later manipulation by an algorithm if “mapping” could recognize the similarity in subject matter in the first two files, although not exact to one another, and provide options to a user. Appreciating that the “words” in the example files are represented in the computing context as binary bits (1's or 0's), which occurs by converting the English alphabet into a series of 1's and 0's through application of ASCII encoding techniques, it would be further useful if the compression algorithm could first recognize the similarity in subject matter of the first two files at the level of raw bit data. The reason for this is that not all files have words and instead might represent pictures (e.g., .jpeg) or spread sheets of numbers.

Appreciating that certain products already exist in the above-identified market space, clarity on the need in the art is as follows. One, present day “keyword matching” is limited to select set of words that have been pulled from a document into an index for matching to the same exact words elsewhere. Two, “Grep” is a modern day technique that searches one or more input files for lines containing an identical match to a specified pattern. Three, “Beyond Compare,” and similar algorithms, are line-by-line comparisons of multiple documents that highlight differences between them. Four, block level data de-duplication has no application in compliance contexts, data relocation, or business intelligence.

The need in the art, on the other hand, needs to serve advanced notions of identifying new business intelligence, conducting operations on completely unstructured or haphazard data, and organizing it, providing new useful options to users, providing new user views, providing new encryption products, identifying highly similar data, and identifying patterns of information within such similar data which contributes to the determination of similarity, and utilizing these patterns to find similar data in a general population of files, to name a few. As a byproduct, solving this need will create new opportunities in minimizing transmission bandwidth and storage capacity, among other things. Naturally, any improvements along such lines should contemplate good engineering practices, such as stability, ease of implementation, unobtrusiveness, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Applying the principles and teachings associated with a file's digital spectrum solves the foregoing and other problems. Broadly, methods and apparatus identify groups of files based on patterns or symbols corresponding to an underlying data stream of original bits of data that are determined to be informationally important. The resulting patterns or symbols of a selected group are ordered according to how effectively each symbol characterizes the selected group of interest. The subset of symbols is used to find similar files from a general population of files to the files in the group of interest.

In an exemplary embodiment, a group of files are stored on one or more computing devices. Each file represents a plurality of symbols. A group of symbols formed from the symbols of each file in the group of files effectively characterizes the group. The number of occurrences of each symbol in each file is used to determine an amount of information that is represented by each symbol. The amount of information is ordered and a portion of the ordered symbols is used in calculating a variance for each symbol. The variance is likewise ordered and another portion of ordered symbols is determined thereby identifying a subset of symbols which characterize the group. Further embodiments include utilizing the subset of symbols as a filter to identify additional similar files from a general population of files. Additionally, groups of common files can be identified from a general population of files and a group selected therefrom for use in identifying a subset of symbols which characterize the selected group for use as a filter to identify further like files.

Executable instructions loaded on one or more computing devices for undertaking the foregoing are also contemplated as are computer program products available as a download or on a computer readable medium. The computer program products are also available for installation on a network appliance or an individual computing device.

These and other embodiments of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following description of the invention and referenced drawings or by practice of the invention. The claims, however, indicate the particularities of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a table in accordance with the present invention showing terminology;

FIG. 2 a table in accordance with the present invention showing a tuple array and tuple nomenclature;

FIG. 3 is a table in accordance with the present invention showing the counting of tuples in a data stream;

FIG. 4 is a table in accordance with the present invention showing the Count from FIG. 3 in array form;

FIG. 5 is Pythagorean's Theorem for use in resolving ties in the counts of highest occurring tuples;

FIG. 6 is a table in accordance with the present invention showing a representative resolution of a tie in the counts of three highest occurring tuples using Pythagorean's Theorem;

FIG. 7 is a table in accordance with the present invention showing an alternative resolution of a tie in the counts of highest occurring tuples;

FIG. 8 is an initial dictionary in accordance with the present invention for the data stream of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 8-60 are iterative data streams and tables in accordance with the present invention depicting dictionaries, arrays, tuple counts, encoding, and the like illustrative of multiple passes through the compression algorithm;

FIG. 61 is a chart in accordance with the present invention showing compression optimization;

FIG. 62 is a table in accordance with the present invention showing compression statistics;

FIGS. 63-69 are diagrams and tables in accordance with the present invention relating to storage of a compressed file;

FIGS. 70-82 b are data streams, tree diagrams and tables in accordance with the present invention relating to decompression of a compressed file;

FIG. 83 is a diagram in accordance with the present invention showing a representative computing device for practicing all or some the foregoing;

FIGS. 84-93 are diagrams in accordance with a “fast approximation” embodiment of the invention that utilizes key information of an earlier compressed file for a file under present consideration having patterns substantially similar to the earlier compressed file; and

FIGS. 94-97 are definitions and diagrams showing a use of “digital spectrum” embodiment of an encoded file, including distances between files; and

FIGS. 99-110 are diagrams in accordance with the present invention showing how to identify patterns of information in a group of files that have contributed most significantly to the files being so grouped and using the identified patterns to identify additional files from a general population of files belonging to the group.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and like numerals represent like details in the various figures. Also, it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that process, mechanical, electrical, arrangement, software and/or other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. In accordance with the present invention, methods and apparatus are hereinafter described for optimizing data compression of digital data.

In a representative embodiment, compression occurs by finding highly occurring patterns in data streams, and replacing them with newly defined symbols that require less space to store than the original patterns. The goal is to eliminate as much redundancy from the digital data as possible. The end result has been shown by the inventor to achieve greater compression ratios on certain tested files than algorithms heretofore known.

In information theory, it is well understood that collections of data contain significant amounts of redundant information. Some redundancies are easily recognized, while others are difficult to observe. A familiar example of redundancy in the English language is the ordered pair of letters QU. When Q appears in written text, the reader anticipates and expects the letter U to follow, such as in the words queen, quick, acquit, and square. The letter U is mostly redundant information when it follows Q. Replacing a recurring pattern of adjacent characters with a single symbol can reduce the amount of space that it takes to store that information. For example, the ordered pair of letters QU can be replaced with a single memorable symbol when the text is stored. For this example, the small Greek letter alpha (α) is selected as the symbol, but any could be chosen that does not otherwise appear in the text under consideration. The resultant compressed text is one letter shorter for each occurrence of QU that is replaced with the single symbol (α), e.g., “αeen,” “αick,” “acαit,” and “scαre.” Such is also stored with a definition of the symbol alpha (α) in order to enable the original data to be restored. Later, the compressed text can be expanded by replacing the symbol with the original letters QU. There is no information loss. Also, this process can be repeated many times over to achieve further compression.

Definitions

With reference to FIG. 1, a table 10 is used to define terminology used in the below compression method and procedure.

Discussion

Redundancy is the superfluous repetition of information. As demonstrated in the QU example above, adjacent characters in written text often form expected patterns that are easily detected. In contrast, digital data is stored as a series of bits where each bit can have only one of two values: off (represented as a zero (0)) and on (represented as a one (1)). Redundancies in digital data, such as long sequences of zeros or ones, are easily seen with the human eye. However, patterns are not obvious in highly complex digital data. The invention's methods and procedures identify these redundancies in stored information so that even highly complex data can be compressed. In turn, the techniques can be used to reduce, optimize, or eliminate redundancy by substituting the redundant information with symbols that take less space to store than the original information. When it is used to eliminate redundancy, the method might originally return compressed data that is larger than the original. This can occur because information about the symbols and how the symbols are encoded for storage must also be stored so that the data can be decompressed later. For example, compression of the word “queen” above resulted in the compressed word “αeen.” But a dictionary having the relationship QU=α also needed to be stored with the word “αeen,” which makes a “first pass” through the compression technique increase in size, not decrease. Eventually, however, further “passes” will stop increasing and decrease so rapidly, despite the presence of an ever-growing dictionary size, that compression ratios will be shown to greatly advance the state of the art. By automating the techniques with computer processors and computing software, compression will also occur exceptionally rapidly. In addition, the techniques herein will be shown to losslessly compress the data.

The Compression Procedure

The following compression method iteratively substitutes symbols for highly occurring tuples in a data stream. An example of this process is provided later in the document.

Prerequisites

The compression procedure will be performed on digital data. Each stored bit has a value of binary 0 or binary 1. This series of bits is referred to as the original digital data.

Preparing the Data

The original digital data is examined at the bit level. The series of bits is conceptually converted to a stream of characters, referred to as the data stream that represents the original data. The symbols 0 and 1 are used to represent the respective raw bit values in the new data stream. These symbols are considered to be atomic because all subsequently defined symbols represent tuples that are based on 0 and 1.

A dictionary is used to document the alphabet of symbols that are used in the data stream. Initially, the alphabet consists solely of the symbols 0 and 1.

Compressing the Data Stream

The following tasks are performed iteratively on the data stream:

-   -   Identifying all possible tuples that can occur for the set of         characters that are in the current data stream.     -   Determining which of the possible tuples occurs most frequently         in the current data stream. In the case of a tie, use the most         complex tuple. (Complexity is discussed below.)     -   Creating a new symbol for the most highly occurring tuple, and         add it to the dictionary.     -   Replacing all occurrences of the most highly occurring tuple         with the new symbol.     -   Encoding the symbols in the data stream by using an encoding         scheme, such as a path-weighted Huffman coding scheme.     -   Calculating the compressed file size.     -   Determining whether the compression goal has been achieved.

Repeating for as long as necessary to achieve optimal compression. That is, if a stream of data were compressed so completely that it was represented by a single bit, it and its complementary dictionary would be larger than the original representation of the stream of data absent the compression. (For example, in the QU example above, if “α” represented the entire word “queen,” the word “queen” could be reduced to one symbol, e.g., “α.” However, this one symbol and its dictionary (reciting “queen=α” is larger than the original content “queen.”) Thus, optimal compression herein recognizes a point of marginal return whereby the dictionary grows too large relative to the amount of compression being achieved by the technique.

Each of these steps is described in more detail below.

Identifying All Possible Tuples

From FIG. 1, a “tuple” is an ordered pair of adjoining characters in a data stream. To identify all possible tuples in a given data stream, the characters in the current alphabet are systematically combined to form ordered pairs of symbols. The left symbol in the pair is referred to as the “first” character, while the right symbol is referred to as the “last” character. In a larger context, the tuples represent the “patterns” examined in a data stream that will yield further advantage in the art.

In the following example and with any data stream of digital data that can be compressed according to the techniques herein, two symbols (0 and 1) occur in the alphabet and are possibly the only symbols in the entire data stream. By examining them as “tuples,” the combination of the 0 and 1 as ordered pairs of adjoining characters reveals only four possible outcomes, i.e., a tuple represented by “00,” a tuple represented by “01,” a tuple represented by “10,” and a tuple represented by “11.”

With reference to FIG. 2, these four possibilities are seen in table 12. In detail, the table shows the tuple array for characters 0 and 1. In the cell for column 0 and row 0, the tuple is the ordered pair of 0 followed by 0. The shorthand notation of the tuple in the first cell is “0>0”. In the cell for column 0 and row 1, the tuple is 0 followed by 1, or “0>1”. In the cell for column 1 and row 0, the tuple is “1>0”. In the cell for column 1 and row 1, the tuple is “1>1”.

Determining the Most Highly Occurring Tuple

With FIG. 2 in mind, it is determined which tuple in a bit stream is the most highly occurring. To do this, simple counting occurs. It reveals how many times each of the possible tuples actually occurs. Each pair of adjoining characters is compared to the possible tuples and the count is recorded for the matched tuple.

The process begins by examining the adjacent characters in position one and two of the data stream. Together, the pair of characters forms a tuple. Advance by one character in the stream and examine the characters in positions two and three. By incrementing through the data stream one character at a time, every combination of two adjacent characters in the data stream is examined and tallied against one of the tuples.

Sequences of repeated symbols create a special case that must be considered when tallying tuples. That is, when a symbol is repeated three or more times, skilled artisans might identify instances of a tuple that cannot exist because the symbols in the tuple belong to other instances of the same tuple. The number of actual tuples in this case is the number of times the symbol repeats divided by two.

For example, consider the data stream 14 in table 16 (FIG. 3) having 10 characters shown as “0110000101.” Upon examining the first two characters 01, a tuple is recognized in the form 0 followed by 1 (0>1). Then, increment forward one character and consider the second and third characters 11, which forms the tuple of 1 followed by 1 (1>1). As progression occurs through the data stream, 9 possible tuple combinations are found: 0>1, 1>1, 1>0, 0>0, 0>0, 0>0, 0>1, 1>0, and 0>1 (element 15, FIG. 3). In the sequence of four sequential zeros (at the fourth through seventh character positions in the data stream “0110000101”), three instances of a 0 followed by a 0 (or 0>0) are identified as possible tuples. It is observed that the second instance of the 0>0 tuple (element 17, FIG. 3) cannot be formed because the symbols are used in the 0>0 tuple before and after it, by prescribed rule. Thus, there are only two possible instances in the COUNT 18, FIG. 3, of the 0>0 tuple, not 3. In turn, the most highly occurring tuple counted in this data stream is 0>1, which occurs 3 times (element 19, FIG. 3). Similarly, tuple 1>1 occurs once (element 20, FIG. 3), while tuple 1>0 occurs twice (element 21, FIG. 3).

After the entire data stream has been examined, the final counts for each tuple are compared to determine which tuple occurs most frequently. In tabular form, the 0 followed by a 1 (tuple 0>1) occurs the most and is referenced at element 19 in table 22, FIG. 4.

In the situation of a tie between two or more tuples, skilled artisans must choose between one of the tuples. For this, experimentation has revealed that choosing the tuple that contains the most complex characters usually results in the most efficient compression. If all tuples are equally complex, skilled artisans can choose any one of the tied tuples and define it as the most highly occurring.

The complexity of a tuple is determined by imagining that the symbols form the sides of a right triangle, and the complexity is a measure of the length of the hypotenuse of that triangle. Of course, the hypotenuse is related to the sum of the squares of the sides, as defined by the Pythagorean Theorem, FIG. 5.

The tuple with the longest hypotenuse is considered the most complex tuple, and is the winner in the situation of a tie between the highest numbers of occurring tuples. The reason for this is that less-complex tuples in the situation of a tie are most likely to be resolved in subsequent passes in the decreasing order of their hypotenuse length. Should a tie in hypotenuse length occur, or a tie in complexity, evidence appears to suggest it does not make a difference which tuple is chosen as the most highly occurring.

For example, suppose that tuples 3>7, 4>4 and 1>5 each occur 356 times when counted (in a same pass). To determine the complexity of each tuple, use the tuple symbols as the two sides of a right triangle and calculate the hypotenuse, FIG. 6. In the instance of 3>7, the side of the hypotenuse is the square root of (three squared (9) plus seven squared (49)), or the square root of 58, or 7.6. In the instance of 4>4, the side of the hypotenuse is the square root of (four squared (16) plus four squared (16), of the square root of 32, or 5.7. Similar, 1>5 calculates as a hypotenuse of 5.1 as seen in table 23 in the Figure. Since the tuple with the largest hypotenuse is the most complex, 3>7's hypotenuse of 7.6 is considered more complex than either of the tuples 4>4 or 1>5.

Skilled artisans can also use the tuple array to visualize the hypotenuse by drawing lines in the columns and rows from the array origin to the tuple entry in the array, as shown in table 24 in FIG. 7. As seen, the longest hypotenuse is labeled 25, so the 3>7 tuple wins the tie, and is designated as the most highly occurring tuple. Hereafter, a new symbol is created to replace the highest occurring tuple (whether occurring the most outright by count or by tie resolution), as seen below. However, based on the complexity rule, it is highly likely that the next passes will replace tuple 4>4 and then tuple 1>5.

Creating a Symbol for the Most Highly Occurring Tuple

As before, a symbol stands for the two adjacent characters that form the tuple and skilled artisans select any new symbol they want provided it is not possibly found in the data stream elsewhere. Also, since the symbol and its definition are added to the alphabet, e.g., if “α=QU,” a dictionary grows by one new symbol in each pass through the data, as will be seen. A good example of a new symbol for use in the invention is a numerical character, sequentially selected, because numbers provide an unlimited source of unique symbols. In addition, reaching an optimized compression goal might take thousands (or even tens of thousands) of passes through the data stream and redundant symbols must be avoided relative to previous passes and future passes.

Replacing the Tuple with the New Symbol

Upon examining the data stream to find all occurrences of the highest occurring tuple, skilled artisans simply substitute the newly defined or newly created symbol for each occurrence of that tuple. Intuitively, substituting a single symbol for two characters compresses the data stream by one character for each occurrence of the tuple that is replaced.

Encoding the Alphabet

To accomplish this, counting occurs for how many times that each of the symbols in the current alphabet occurs in the data stream. They then use the symbol count to apply an encoding scheme, such as a path-weighted Huffman coding scheme, to the alphabet. Huffman trees should be within the purview of the artisan's skill set.

The encoding assigns bits to each symbol in the current alphabet that actually appears in the data stream. That is, symbols with a count of zero occurrences are not encoded in the tree. Also, symbols might go “extinct” in the data stream as they are entirely consumed by yet more complex symbols, as will be seen. As a result, the Huffman code tree is rebuilt every time a new symbol is added to the dictionary. This means that the Huffman code for a given symbol can change with every pass. The encoded length of the data stream usually decreases with each pass.

Calculating the Compressed File Size

The compressed file size is the total amount of space that it takes to store the Huffman-encoded data stream plus the information about the compression, such as information about the file, the dictionary, and the Huffman encoding tree. The compression information must be saved along with other information so that the encoded data can be decompressed later.

To accomplish this, artisans count the number of times that each symbol appears in the data stream. They also count the number of bits in the symbol's Huffman code to find its bit length. They then multiply the bit length by the symbol count to calculate the total bits needed to store all occurrences of the symbol. This is then repeated for each symbol. Thereafter, the total bit counts for all symbols are added to determine how many bits are needed to store only the compressed data. To determine the compressed file size, add the total bit count for the data to the number of bits required for the related compression information (the dictionary and the symbol-encoding information).

Determining Whether the Compression Goal has been Achieved

Substituting a tuple with a single symbol reduces the total number of characters in a data stream by one for each instance of a tuple that is replaced by a symbol. That is, for each instance, two existing characters are replaced with one new character. In a given pass, each instance of the tuple is replaced by a new symbol. There are three observed results:

-   -   The length of the data stream (as measured by how many         characters make up the text) decreases by half the number of         tuples replaced.     -   The number of symbols in the alphabet increases by one.

The number of nodes in the Huffman tree increases by two.

By repeating the compression procedure a sufficient number of times, any series of characters can eventually be reduced to a single character. That “super-symbol” character conveys the entire meaning of the original text. However, the information about the symbols and encoding that is used to reach that final symbol is needed to restore the original data later. As the number of total characters in the text decreases with each repetition of the procedure, the number of symbols increases by one. With each new symbol, the size of the dictionary and the size of the Huffman tree increase, while the size of the data decreases relative to the number of instances of the tuple it replaces. It is possible that the information about the symbol takes more space to store than the original data it replaces. In order for the compressed file size to become smaller than the original data stream size, the text size must decrease faster than the size increases for the dictionary and the Huffman encoding information.

The question at hand is then, what is the optimal number of substitutions (new symbols) to make, and how should those substitutions be determined?

For each pass through the data stream, the encoded length of the text decreases, while the size of the dictionary and the Huffman tree increases. It has been observed that the compressed file size will reach a minimal value, and then increase. The increase occurs at some point because so few tuple replacements are done that the decrease in text size no longer outweighs the increase in size of the dictionary and Huffman tree.

The size of the compressed file does not decrease smoothly or steadily downward. As the compression process proceeds, the size might plateau or temporarily increase. In order to determine the true (global) minimum, it is necessary to continue some number of iterations past the each new (local) minimum point. This true minimal value represents the optimal compression for the data stream using this method.

Through experimentation, three conditions have been found that can be used to decide when to terminate the compression procedure: asymptotic reduction, observed low, and single character. Each method is described below. Other terminating conditions might be determined through further experimentation.

Asymptotic Reduction

An asymptotic reduction is a concession to processing efficiency, rather than a completion of the procedure. When compressing larger files (100 kilobytes (KB) or greater), after several thousand passes, each additional pass produces only a very small additional compression. The compressed size is still trending downward, but at such a slow rate that additional compute time is not warranted.

Based on experimental results, the process is terminated if at least 1000 passes have been done, and less than 1% of additional data stream compression has occurred in the last 1000 passes. The previously noted minimum is therefore used as the optimum compressed file.

Observed Low

A reasonable number of passes have been performed on the data and in the last reasonable number of passes a new minimum encoded file size has not been detected. It appears that further passes only result in a larger encoded file size.

Based on experimental results, the process is terminated if at least 1000 passes have been done, and in the last 10% of the passes, a new low has not been established. The previously noted minimum is then used as the optimum compressed file.

Single Character

The data stream has been reduced to exactly one character. This case occurs if the file is made up of data that can easily reduce to a single symbol, such a file filled with a repeating pattern. In cases like this, compression methods other than this one might result in smaller compressed file sizes.

How the Procedure Optimizes Compression

The representative embodiment of the invention uses Huffman trees to encode the data stream that has been progressively shortened by tuple replacement, and balanced against the growth of the resultant Huffman tree and dictionary representation.

The average length of a Huffman encoded symbol depends upon two factors:

-   -   How many symbols must be represented in the Huffman tree     -   The distribution of the frequency of symbol use

The average encoded symbol length grows in a somewhat stepwise fashion as more symbols are added to the dictionary. Because the Huffman tree is a binary tree, increases naturally occur as the number of symbols passes each level of the power of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.). At these points, the average number of bits needed to represent any given symbol normally increases by 1 bit, even though the number of characters that need to be encoded decreases. Subsequent compression passes usually overcome this temporary jump in encoded data stream length.

The second factor that affects the efficiency of Huffman coding is the distribution of the frequency of symbol use. If one symbol is used significantly more than any other, it can be assigned a shorter encoding representation, which results in a shorter encoded length overall, and results in maximum compression. The more frequently a symbol occurs, the shorter the encoded stream that replaces it. The less frequently a symbol occurs, the longer the encoded stream that replaces it.

If all symbols occur at approximately equal frequencies, the number of symbols has the greater effect than does the size of the encoded data stream. Supporting evidence is that maximum compression occurs when minimum redundancy occurs, that is, when the data appears random. This state of randomness occurs when every symbol occurs at the same frequency as any other symbol, and there is no discernable ordering to the symbols.

The method and procedure described in this document attempt to create a state of randomness in the data stream. By replacing highly occurring tuples with new symbols, eventually the frequency of all symbols present in the data stream becomes roughly equal. Similarly, the frequency of all tuples is also approximately equal. These two criteria (equal occurrence of every symbol and equal occurrence of ordered symbol groupings) is the definition of random data. Random data means no redundancy. No redundancy means maximum compression.

This method and procedure derives optimal compression from a combination of the two factors. It reduces the number of characters in the data stream by creating new symbols to replace highly occurring tuples. The frequency distribution of symbol occurrence in the data stream tends to equalize as oft occurring symbols are eliminated during tuple replacement. This has the effect of flattening the Huffman tree, minimizing average path lengths, and therefore, minimizing encoded data stream length. The number of newly created symbols is held to a minimum by measuring the increase in dictionary size against the decrease in encoded data stream size.

Example of Compression

To demonstrate the compression procedure, a small data file contains the following simple ASCII characters:

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabaaabaaaaaaaababbbbbb

Each character is stored as a sequence of eight bits that correlates to the ASCII code assigned to the character. The bit values for each character are:

a=01100001

b=01100010

The digital data that represents the file is the original data that we use for our compression procedure. Later, we want to decompress the compressed file to get back to the original data without data loss.

Preparing the Data Stream

The digital data that represents the file is a series of bits, where each bit has a value of 0 or 1. We want to abstract the view of the bits by conceptually replacing them with symbols to form a sequential stream of characters, referred to as a data stream.

For our sample digital data, we create two new symbols called 0 and 1 to represent the raw bit values of 0 and 1, respectively. These two symbols form our initial alphabet, so we place them in the dictionary 26, FIG. 8.

The data stream 30 in FIG. 9 represents the original series of bits in the stored file, e.g., the first eight bits 32 are “01100001” and correspond to the first letter “a” in the data file. Similarly, the very last eight bits 34 are “01100010” and correspond to the final letter “b” in the data file, and each of the 1's and 0's come from the ASCII code above. Also, the characters in data stream 30 are separated with a space for user readability, but the space is not considered, just the characters. The space would not occur in computer memory either.

Compressing the Data Stream

The data stream 30 of FIG. 9 is now ready for compression. The procedure will be repeated until the compression goal is achieved. For this example, the compression goal is to minimize the amount of space that it takes to store the digital data.

Initial Pass

For the initial pass, the original data stream and alphabet that were created in “Preparing the Data Stream” are obtained.

Identifying all Possible Tuples

An easy way to identify all possible combinations of the characters in our current alphabet (at this time having 0 and 1) is to create a tuple array (table 35, FIG. 10). Those symbols are placed or fitted as a column and row, and the cells are filled in with the tuple that combines those symbols. The columns and rows are constructed alphabetically from left to right and top to bottom, respectively, according to the order that the symbols appear in our dictionary. For this demonstration, we will consider the symbol in a column to be the first character in the tuple, and the symbol in a row to be the last character in the tuple. To simplify the presentation of tuples in each cell, we will use the earlier-described notation of “first>last” to indicate the order of appearance in the pair of characters, and to make it easier to visually distinguish the symbols in the pair. The tuples shown in each cell now represent the patterns we want to look for in the data stream.

For example, the table 35 shows the tuple array for characters 0 and 1. In the cell for column 0 and row 0, the tuple is the ordered pair of 0 followed by 0. The shorthand notation of the tuple in the first cell is “0>0”. In the cell for column 0 and row 1, the tuple is 0 followed by 1, or “0>1”. In the cell for column 1 and row 0, the tuple is “1>0”. In the cell for column 1 and row 1, the tuple is “1>1”. (As skilled artisans will appreciate, most initial dictionaries and original tuple arrays will be identical to these. The reason is that computing data streams will all begin with a stream of 1's and 0's having two symbols only.)

Determining the Highly Occurring Tuple

After completion of the tuple array, we are ready to look for the tuples in the data stream 30, FIG. 9. We start at the beginning of the data stream with the first two characters “01” labeled element 37. We compare this pair of characters to our known tuples, keeping in mind that order matters. We match the pair to a tuple, and add one count for that instance. We move forward by one character, and look at the pair of characters 38 in positions two and three in the data stream, or “11.” We compare and match this pair to one of the tuples, and add one count for that instance. We continue tallying occurrences of the tuples in this manner until we reach the end of the data stream. In this instance, the final tuple is “10” labeled 39. By incrementing through the data stream one character at a time, we have considered every combination of two adjacent characters in the data stream, and tallied each instance against one of the tuples. We also consider the rule for sequences of repeated symbols, described above, to determine the actual number of instances for the tuple that is defined by pairs of that symbol.

For example, the first two characters in our sample data stream are 0 followed by 1. This matches the tuple 0>1, so we count that as one instance of the tuple. We step forward one character. The characters in positions two and three are 1 followed by 1, which matches the tuple 1>1. We count it as one instance of the 1>1 tuple. We consider the sequences of three or more zeros in the data stream (e.g., 01100001 . . . ) to determine the actual number of tuples for the 0>0 tuple. We repeat this process to the end of the data set with the count results in table 40, FIG. 11.

Now that we have gathered statistics for how many times each tuple appears in the data stream 30, we compare the total counts for each tuple to determine which pattern is the most highly occurring. The tuple that occurs most frequently is a tie between a 1 followed by 0 (1>0), which occurs 96 times, and a 0 followed by 1 (0>1), which also occurs 96 times. As discussed above, skilled artisans then choose the most complex tuple and do so according to Pythagorean's Theorem. The sum of the squares for each tuple is the same, which is 1 (1+0) and 1 (0+1). Because they have the same complexity, it does not matter which one is chosen as the highest occurring. In this example, we will choose tuple 1>0.

We also count the number of instances of each of the symbols in the current alphabet as seen in table 41, FIG. 12. The total symbol count in the data stream is 384 total symbols that represent 384 bits in the original data. Also, the symbol 0 appears 240 times in original data stream 30, FIG. 9, while the symbol 1 only appears 144 times.

Pass 1

In this next pass, we replace the most highly occurring tuple from the previous pass with a new symbol, and then we determine whether we have achieved our compression goal.

Creating a Symbol for the Highly Occurring Tuple

We replace the most highly occurring tuple from the previous pass with a new symbol and add it to the alphabet. Continuing the example, we add a new symbol 2 to the dictionary and define it with the tuple defined as 1 followed by 0 (1>0). It is added to the dictionary 26′ as seen in FIG. 13. (Of course, original symbol 0 is still defined as a 0, while original symbol 1 is still defined as a 1. Neither of these represent a first symbol followed by a last symbol which is why dashes appear in the dictionary 26′ under “Last” for each of them.)

Replacing the Tuple with the New Symbol

In the original data stream 30, every instance of the tuple 1>0 is now replaced with the new, single symbol. In our example data stream 30, FIG. 9, the 96 instances of the tuple 1>0 have been replaced with the new symbol “2” to create the output data stream 30′, FIG. 14, that we will use for this pass. As skilled artisans will observe, replacing ninety-six double instances of symbols with a single, new symbol shrinks or compresses the data stream 30′ in comparison to the original data stream 30, FIG. 8.

Encoding the Alphabet

After we compress the data stream by using the new symbol, we use a path-weighted Huffman coding scheme to assign bits to each symbol in the current alphabet. To do this, we again count the number of instances of each of the symbols in the current alphabet (now having “0,” “1” and “2.”) The total symbol count in the data stream is 288 symbols as seen in table 41′, FIG. 15. We also have one end-of-file (EOF) symbol at the end of the data stream (not shown).

Next, we use the counts to build a Huffman binary code tree. 1) List the symbols from highest count to lowest count. 2) Combine the counts for the two least frequently occurring symbols in the dictionary. This creates a node that has the value of the sum of the two counts. 3) Continue combining the two lowest counts in this manner until there is only one symbol remaining. This generates a Huffman binary code tree.

Finally, label the code tree paths with zeros (0s) and ones (1s). The Huffman coding scheme assigns shorter code words to the more frequent symbols, which helps reduce the size length of the encoded data. The Huffman code for a symbol is defined as the string of values associated with each path transition from the root to the symbol terminal node.

With reference to FIG. 16, the tree 50 demonstrates the process of building the Huffman tree and code for the symbols in the current alphabet. We also create a code for the end of file marker that we placed at the end of the data stream when we counted the tuples. In more detail, the root contemplates 289 total symbols, i.e., the 288 symbols for the alphabet “0,” “1” and “2” plus one EOF symbol. At the leaves, the “0” is shown with its counts 144, the “1” with its count of 48, the “2” with its count of 96 and the EOF with its count of 1. Between the leaves and root, the branches define the count in a manner skilled artisans should readily understand.

In this compression procedure, we will re-build a Huffman code tree every time we add a symbol to the current dictionary. This means that the Huffman code for a given symbol can change with every compression pass.

Calculating the Compressed File Size

From the Huffman tree, we use its code to evaluate the amount of space needed to store the compressed data as seen in table 52, FIG. 17. First, we count the number of bits in the Huffman code for each symbol to find its bit length 53. Next, we multiply a symbol's bit length by its count 54 to calculate the total bits 55 used to store the occurrences of that symbol. We add the total bits 56 needed for all symbols to determine how many bits are needed to store only the compressed data. As seen, the current data stream 30′, FIG. 14 requires 483 bits to store only the information.

To know whether we achieved optimal compression, we must consider the total amount of space that it takes to store the compressed data plus the information about the compression that we need to store in order to decompress the data later. We also must store information about the file, the dictionary, and the Huffman tree. The table 57 in FIG. 18 shows the total compression overhead as being 25 bits, which brings the compressed size of the data stream to 508 bits, or 483 bits plus 25 bits.

Determining Whether the Compression Goal has been Achieved

Finally, we compare the original number of bits (384, FIG. 12) to the current number of bits (508) that are needed for this compression pass. We find that it takes 1.32 times as many bits to store the compressed data as it took to store the original data, table 58, FIG. 19. This is not compression at all, but expansion.

In early passes, however, we expect to see that the substitution requires more space than the original data because of the effect of carrying a dictionary, adding symbols, and building a tree. On the other hand, skilled artisans should observe an eventual reduction in the amount of space needed as the compression process continues. Namely, as the size of the data set decreases by the symbol replacement method, the size grows for the symbol dictionary and the Huffman tree information that we need for decompressing the data.

Pass 2

In this pass, we replace the most highly occurring tuple from the previous pass (pass 1) with still another new symbol, and then we determine whether we have achieved our compression goal.

Identifying all Possible Tuples

As a result of the new symbol, the tuple array is expanded by adding the symbol that was created in the previous pass. Continuing our example, we add 2 as a first symbol and last symbol, and enter the tuples in the new cells of table 35′, FIG. 20.

Determining the Highly Occurring Tuple

As before, the tuple array identifies the tuples that we look for and tally in our revised alphabet. As seen in table 40′, FIG. 21, the Total Symbol Count=288. The tuple that occurs most frequently when counting the data stream 30′, FIG. 14, is the character 2 followed by the character 0 (2>0). It occurs 56 times as seen circled in table 40′, FIG. 21.

Creating a Symbol for the Highly Occurring Tuple

We define still another new symbol “3” to represent the most highly occurring tuple 2>0, and add it to the dictionary 26″, FIG. 22, for the alphabet that was developed in the previous passes.

Replacing the Tuple with the New Symbol

In the data stream 30′, FIG. 14, we replace every instance of the most highly occurring tuple with the new single symbol. We replace the 56 instances of the 2>0 tuple with the symbol 3 and the resultant data stream 30′″ is seen in FIG. 23.

Encoding the Alphabet

As demonstrated above, we count the number of symbols in the data stream, and use the count to build a Huffman tree and code for the current alphabet. The total symbol count has been reduced from 288 to 234 (e.g., 88+48+40+58, but not including the EOF marker) as seen in table 41″, FIG. 24.

Calculating the Compressed File Size

We need to evaluate whether our substitution reduces the amount of space that it takes to store the data. As described above, we calculate the total bits needed (507) as in table 52′, FIG. 25.

In table 57′, FIG. 26, the compression overhead is calculated as 38 bits.

Determining Whether the Compression Goal has been Achieved

Finally, we compare the original number of bits (384) to the current number of bits (545=507+38) that are needed for this compression pass. We find that it takes 141% or 1.41 times as many bits to store the compressed data as it took to store the original data. Compression is still not achieved and the amount of data in this technique is growing larger rather than smaller in comparison to the previous pass requiring 132%.

Pass 3

In this pass, we replace the most highly occurring tuple from the previous pass with a new symbol, and then we determine whether we have achieved our compression goal.

Identifying All Possible Tuples

We expand the tuple array 35″, FIG. 28 by adding the symbol that was created in the previous pass. We add the symbol “3” as a first symbol and last symbol, and enter the tuples in the new cells.

Determining the Highly Occurring Tuple

The tuple array identifies the tuples that we look for and tally in our revised alphabet. In table 40″, FIG. 29, the Total Symbol Count is 232, and the tuple that occurs most frequently is the character 1 followed by character 3 (1>3). It occurs 48 times, which ties with the tuple of character 3 followed by character 0. We determine that the tuple 1>3 is the most complex tuple because it has a hypotenuse length 25′ of 3.16 (SQRT(1²+3²)), and tuple 3>0 has a hypotenuse of 3 (SQRT(0²+3²)).

Creating a Symbol for the Highly Occurring Tuple

We define a new symbol 4 to represent the most highly occurring tuple 1>3, and add it to the dictionary 26′″, FIG. 30, for the alphabet that was developed in the previous passes.

Replacing the Tuple with the New Symbol

In the data stream, we replace every instance of the most highly occurring tuple from the earlier data stream with the new single symbol. We replace the 48 instances of the 1>3 tuple with the symbol 4 and new data stream 30-4 is obtained, FIG. 31.

Encoding the Alphabet

We count the number of symbols in the data stream, and use the count to build a Huffman tree and code for the current alphabet as seen in table 41′″, FIG. 32. There is no Huffman code assigned to the symbol 1 because there are no instances of this symbol in the compressed data in this pass. (This can be seen in the data stream 30-4, FIG. 31.) The total symbol count has been reduced from 232 to 184 (e.g., 88+0+40+8+48, but not including the EOF marker).

Calculating the Compressed File Size

We need to evaluate whether our substitution reduces the amount of space that it takes to store the data. As seen in table 52″, FIG. 33, the total bits are equal to 340.

In table 57″, FIG. 34, the compression overhead in bits is 42.

Determining Whether the Compression Goal has been Achieved

Finally, we compare the original number of bits (384) to the current number of bits (382) that are needed for this compression pass. We find that it takes 0.99 times as many bits to store the compressed data as it took to store the original data. Compression is achieved.

Pass 4

In this pass, we replace the most highly occurring tuple from the previous pass with a new symbol, and then we determine whether we have achieved our compression goal.

Identifying all Possible Tuples

We expand the tuple array 35′″, FIG. 36, by adding the symbol that was created in the previous pass. We add the symbol 4 as a first symbol and last symbol, and enter the tuples in the new cells.

Determining the Highly Occurring Tuple

The tuple array identifies the tuples that we look for and tally in our revised alphabet. In table 40′″, FIG. 37, the Total Symbol Count=184 and the tuple that occurs most frequently is the character 4 followed by character 0 (4>0). It occurs 48 times.

Creating a Symbol for the Highly Occurring Tuple

We define a new symbol 5 to represent the 4>0 tuple, and add it to the dictionary 26-4, FIG. 38, for the alphabet that was developed in the previous passes.

Replacing the Tuple with the New Symbol

In the data stream, we replace every instance of the most highly occurring tuple with the new single symbol. We replace the 48 instances of the 40 tuple in data stream 30-4, FIG. 31, with the symbol 5 as seen in data stream 30-5, FIG. 39.

Encoding the Alphabet

As demonstrated above, we count the number of symbols in the data stream, and use the count to build a Huffman tree and code for the current alphabet. There is no Huffman code assigned to the symbol 1 and the symbol 4 because there are no instances of these symbols in the compressed data in this pass. The total symbol count has been reduced from 184 to 136 (e.g., 40+0+40+8+0+48, but not including the EOF marker) as seen in table 41-4, FIG. 40.

Calculating the Compressed File Size

We need to evaluate whether our substitution reduces the amount of space that it takes to store the data. As seen in table 52′″, FIG. 41, the total number of bits is 283.

As seen in table 57′″, FIG. 42, the compression overhead in bits is 48.

Determining Whether the Compression Goal Has Been Achieved

Finally, we compare the original number of bits (384) to the current number of bits (331) that are needed for this compression pass as seen in table 58′, FIG. 43. In turn, we find that it takes 0.86 times as many bits to store the compressed data as it took to store the original data.

Pass 5

In this pass, we replace the most highly occurring tuple from the previous pass with a new symbol, and then we determine whether we have achieved our compression goal.

Identifying all Possible Tuples

We expand the tuple array by adding the symbol that was created in the previous pass. We add the symbol 5 as a first symbol and last symbol, and enter the tuples in the new cells as seen in table 35-4, FIG. 44.

Determining the Highly Occurring Tuple

The tuple array identifies the tuples that we look for and tally in our revised alphabet as seen in table 40-4, FIG. 45. (Total Symbol Count=136) The tuple that occurs most frequently is the symbol 2 followed by symbol 5 (2>5), which has a hypotenuse of 5.4. It occurs 39 times. This tuple ties with the tuple 0>2 (hypotenuse is 2) and 5>0 (hypotenuse is 5). The tuple 2>5 is the most complex based on the hypotenuse length 25″ described above.

Creating a Symbol for the Highly Occurring Triple

We define a new symbol 6 to represent the most highly occurring tuple 2>5, and add it to the dictionary for the alphabet that was developed in the previous passes as seen in table 26-5, FIG. 46.

Replacing the Tuple with the New Symbol

In the data stream, we replace every instance of the most highly occurring tuple with the new single symbol. We replace the 39 instances of the 2>5 tuple in data stream 30-5, FIG. 39, with the symbol 6 as seen in data stream 30-6, FIG. 47.

Encoding the Alphabet

As demonstrated above, we count the number of symbols in the data stream, and use the count to build a Huffman tree and code for the current alphabet as seen in table 41-5, FIG. 48. There is no Huffman code assigned to the symbol 1 and the symbol 4 because there are no instances of these symbols in the compressed data in this pass. The total symbol count has been reduced from 136 to 97 (e.g., 40+1+8+9+39, but not including the EOF marker) as seen in table 52-4, FIG. 49.

Calculating the Compressed File Size

We need to evaluate whether our substitution reduces the amount of space that it takes to store the data. As seen in table 52-4, FIG. 49, the total number of bits is 187.

As seen in table 57-4, FIG. 50, the compression overhead in bits is 59.

Determining Whether the Compression Goal has been Achieved

Finally, we compare the original number of bits (384) to the current number of bits (246, or 187+59) that are needed for this compression pass as seen in table 58-4, FIG. 51. We find that it takes 0.64 times as many bits to store the compressed data as it took to store the original data.

Pass 6

In this pass, we replace the most highly occurring tuple from the previous pass with a new symbol, and then we determine whether we have achieved our compression goal.

Identifying all Possible Tuples

We expand the tuple array 35-5 by adding the symbol that was created in the previous pass as seen in FIG. 52. We add the symbol 6 as a first symbol and last symbol, and enter the tuples in the new cells.

Determining the Highly Occurring Tuple

The tuple array identifies the tuples that we look for and tally in our revised alphabet. (Total Symbol Count=97) The tuple that occurs most frequently is the symbol 0 followed by symbol 6 (0>6). It occurs 39 times as seen in table 40-5, FIG. 53.

Creating a Symbol for the Highly Occurring Tuple

We define a new symbol 7 to represent the 0>6 tuple, and add it to the dictionary for the alphabet that was developed in the previous passes as seen in table 26-6, FIG. 54.

Replacing the Tuple with the New Symbol

In the data stream, we replace every instance of the most highly occurring tuple with the new single symbol. We replace the 39 instances of the 0>6 tuple in data stream 30-6, FIG. 47, with the symbol 7 as seen in data stream 30-7, FIG. 55.

Encoding the Alphabet

As demonstrated above, we count the number of symbols in the data stream, and use the count to build a Huffman tree and code for the current alphabet as seen in table 41-6, FIG. 56. There is no Huffman code assigned to the symbol 1, symbol 4 and symbol 6 because there are no instances of these symbols in the compressed data in this pass. The total symbol count has been reduced from 97 to 58 (e.g., 1+0+1+8+0+9+0+39, but not including the EOF marker).

Because all the symbols 1, 4, and 6 have been removed from the data stream, there is no reason to express them in the encoding scheme of the Huffman tree 50′, FIG. 57. However, the extinct symbols will be needed in the decode table. A complex symbol may decode to two less complex symbols. For example, a symbol 7 decodes to 0>6.

We need to evaluate whether our substitution reduces the amount of space that it takes to store the data. As seen in table 52-5, FIG. 58, the total number of bits is 95.

As seen in table 57-5, FIG. 59, the compression overhead in bits is 71.

Determining Whether the Compression Goal has been Achieved

Finally, we compare the original number of bits (384) to the current number of bits (166, or 95+71) that are needed for this compression pass as seen in table 58-5, FIG. 60. We find that it takes 0.43 times as many bits to store the compressed data as it took to store the original data.

Subsequent Passes

Skilled artisans will also notice that overhead has been growing in size while the total number of bits is still decreasing. We repeat the procedure to determine if this is the optimum compressed file size. We compare the compression size for each subsequent pass to the first occurring lowest compressed file size. The chart 60, FIG. 61, demonstrates how the compressed file size grows, decreases, and then begins to grow as the encoding information and dictionary sizes grow. We can continue the compression of the foregoing techniques until the text file compresses to a single symbol after 27 passes.

Interesting Symbol Statistics

With reference to table 61, FIG. 62, interesting statistics about the symbols for this compression are observable. For instance, the top 8 symbols represent 384 bits (e.g., 312+45+24+2+1) and 99.9% (e.g., 81.2+11.7+6.2+0.5+0.3%) of the file.

Storing the Compressed File

The information needed to decompress a file is usually written at the front of a compressed file, as well as to a separate dictionary only file. The compressed file contains information about the file, a coded representation of the Huffman tree that was used to compress the data, the dictionary of symbols that was created during the compression process, and the compressed data. The goal is to store the information and data in as few bits as possible.

This section describes a method and procedure for storing information in the compressed file.

File Type

The first four bits in the file are reserved for the version number of the file format, called the file type. This field allows flexibility for future versions of the software that might be used to write the encoded data to the storage media. The file type indicates which version of the software was used when we saved the file in order to allow the file to be decompressed later.

Four bits allows for up to 16 versions of the software. That is, binary numbers from 0000 to 1111 represent version numbers from 0 to 15. Currently, this field contains binary 0000.

Maximum Symbol Width

The second four bits in the file are reserved for the maximum symbol width. This is the number of bits that it takes to store in binary form the largest symbol value. The actual value stored is four less than the number of bits required to store the largest symbol value in the compressed data. When we read the value, we add four to the stored number to get the actual maximum symbol width. This technique allows symbol values up to 20 bits. In practical terms, the value 2̂20 (2 raised to the 20^(th) power) means that about 1 million symbols can be used for encoding.

For example, if symbols 0-2000 might appear in the compressed file, the largest symbol ID (2000) would fit in a field containing 11 bits. Hence, a decimal 7 (binary 0111) would be stored in this field.

In the compression example, the maximum symbol width is the end-of-file symbol 8, which takes four bits in binary (1000). We subtract four, and store a value of 0000. When we decompress the data, we add four to zero to find the maximum symbol width of four bits. The symbol width is used to read the Huffman tree that immediately follows in the coded data stream.

Coded Huffman Tree

We must store the path information for each symbol that appears in the Huffman tree and its value. To do this, we convert the symbol's digital value to binary. Each symbol will be stored in the same number of bits, as determined by the symbol with the largest digital value and stored as the just read “symbol width”.

In the example, the largest symbol in the dictionary in the Huffman encoded tree is the end-of-file symbol 8. The binary form of 8 is 1000, which takes 4 bits. We will store each of the symbol values in 4 bits.

To store a path, we will walk the Huffman tree in a method known as a pre-fix order recursive parse, where we visit each node of the tree in a known order. For each node in the tree one bit is stored. The value of the bit indicates if the node has children (1) or if it is a leaf with no children (0). If it is a leaf, we also store the symbol value. We start at the root and follow the left branch down first. We visit each node only once. When we return to the root, we follow the right branch down, and repeat the process for the right branch.

In the following example, the Huffman encoded tree is redrawn as 50-2 to illustrate the prefix-order parse, where nodes with children are labeled as 1, and leaf nodes are labeled as 0 as seen in FIG. 63.

The discovered paths and symbols are stored in the binary form in the order in which they are discovered in this method of parsing. Write the following bit string to the file, where the bits displayed in bold/underline represent the path, and the value of the 0 node are displayed without bold/underline. The spaces are added for readability; they are not written to media.

110 0101 110 0000 10 1000 0 0010 0 0011 0 0111

Encode Array for the Dictionary

The dictionary information is stored as sequential first/last definitions, starting with the two symbols that define the symbol 2. We can observe the following characteristics of the dictionary:

The symbols 0 and 1 are the atomic (non-divisible) symbols common to every compressed file, so they do not need to be written to media.

Because we know the symbols in the dictionary are sequential beginning with 2, we store only the symbol definition and not the symbol itself.

A symbol is defined by the tuple it replaces. The left and right symbols in the tuple are naturally symbols that precede the symbol they define in the dictionary.

We can store the left/right symbols of the tuple in binary form.

We can predict the maximum number of bits that it takes to store numbers in binary form. The number of bits used to store binary numbers increases by one bit with each additional power of two as seen, for example, in table 62, FIG. 64:

Because the symbol represents a tuple made up of lower-level symbols, we will increase the bit width at the next higher symbol value; that is, at 3, 5, 9, and 17, instead of at 2, 4, 8, and 16.

We use this information to minimize the amount of space needed to store the dictionary. We store the binary values for the tuple in the order of first and last, and use only the number of bits needed for the values.

Three dictionary instances have special meanings. The 0 and 1 symbols represent the atomic symbols of data binary 0 binary 1, respectively. The last structure in the array represents the end-of-file (EOF) symbol, which does not have any component pieces. The EOF symbol is always assigned a value that is one number higher than the last symbol found in the data stream.

Continuing our compression example, the table 63, FIG. 65, shows how the dictionary is stored.

Write the following bit string to the file. The spaces are added for readability; they are not written to media.

10 1000 0111 100000 010101 000110

Encoded Data

To store the encoded data, we replace the symbol with its matching Huffman code and write the bits to the media. At the end of the encoded bit string, we write the EOF symbol. In our example, the final compressed symbol string is seen again as 30-7, FIG. 66, including the EOF.

The Huffman code for the optimal compression is shown in table 67, FIG. 67.

As we step through the data stream, we replace the symbol with the Huffman coded bits as seen at string 68, FIG. 68. For example, we replace symbol 0 with the bits 0100 from table 67, replace symbol 5 with 00 from table 67, replace instances of symbol 7 with 1, and so on. We write the following string to the media, and write the end of file code at the end. The bits are separated by spaces for readability; the spaces are not written to media.

The compressed bit string for the data, without spaces is:

010000111111111111111111111111111011001110110011111111011001011000 11000110001100011000101101010

Overview of the Stored File

As summarized in the diagram 69, FIG. 69, the information stored in the compressed file is the file type, symbol width, Huffman tree, dictionary, encoded data, and EOF symbol. After the EOF symbol, a variable amount of pad bits are added to align the data with the final byte in storage.

In the example, the bits 70 of FIG. 70 are written to media. Spaces are shown between the major fields for readability; the spaces are not written to media. The “x” represents the pad bits. In FIG. 69, the bits 70 are seen filled into diagram 69 b corresponding to the compressed file format.

Decompressing the Compressed File

The process of decompression unpacks the data from the beginning of the file 69, FIG. 69, to the end of the stream.

File Type

Read the first four bits of the file to determine the file format version.

Maximum Symbol Width

Read the next four bits in the file, and then add four to the value to determine the maximum symbol width. This value is needed to read the Huffman tree information.

Huffman Tree

Reconstruct the Huffman tree. Each 1 bit represents a node with two children. Each 0 bit represents a leaf node, and it is immediately followed by the symbol value. Read the number of bits for the symbol using the maximum symbol width.

In the example, the stored string for Huffman is:

11001011100000101000000100001100111

With reference to FIG. 71, diagram 71 illustrates how to unpack and construct the Huffman tree using the pre-fix order method.

Dictionary

To reconstruct the dictionary from file 69, read the values for the pairs of tuples and populate the table. The values of 0 and 1 are known, so they are automatically included. The bits are read in groups based on the number of bits per symbol at that level as seen in table 72, FIG. 72.

In our example, the following bits were stored in the file:

1010000111101000010101000110

We read the numbers in pairs, according to the bits per symbol, where the pairs represent the numbers that define symbols in the dictionary:

Bits Symbol 1 0 2 10 00 3 01 11 4 100 000 5 010 101 6 000 110 7

We convert each binary number to a decimal number:

Decimal Value Symbol 1 0 2 2 0 3 1 3 4 4 0 5 2 5 6 0 6 7

We identify the decimal values as the tuple definitions for the symbols:

Symbol Tuple 2 1 > 0 3 2 > 0 4 1 > 3 5 4 > 0 6 2 > 5 7 0 > 6

We populate the dictionary with these definitions as seen in table 73, FIG. 73.

Construct the Decode Tree

We use the tuples that are defined in the re-constructed dictionary to build the Huffman decode tree. Let's decode the example dictionary to demonstrate the process. The diagram 74 in FIG. 74 shows how we build the decode tree to determine the original bits represented by each of the symbols in the dictionary. The step-by-step reconstruction of the original bits is as follows:

Start with symbols 0 and 1. These are the atomic elements, so there is no related tuple. The symbol 0 is a left branch from the root. The symbol 1 is a right branch. (Left and right are relative to the node as you are facing the diagram—that is, on your left and on your right.) The atomic elements are each represented by a single bit, so the binary path and the original path are the same. Record the original bits 0 and 1 in the decode table.

Symbol 2 is defined as the tuple 1>0 (symbol 1 followed by symbol 0). In the decode tree, go to the node for symbol 1, then add a path that represents symbol 0. That is, add a left branch at node 1. The terminating node is the symbol 2. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the branch paths of left (L) and right (R). Replace each left branch with a 0 and each right path with a 1 to view the binary forum of the path as LR, or binary 10.

Symbol 3 is defined as the tuple 2>0. In the decode tree, go to the node for symbol 2, then add a path that represents symbol 0. That is, add a left branch at node 2. The terminating node is the symbol 3. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the branch path of RLL. Replace each left branch with a 0 and each right path with a 1 to view the binary form of the path as 100.

Symbol 4 is defined as the tuple 1>3. In the decode tree, go to the node for symbol 1, then add a path that represents symbol 3. From the root to the node for symbol 3, the path is RLL. At symbol 1, add the RLL path. The terminating node is symbol 4. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of RRLL, which translates to the binary format of 1100.

Symbol 5 is defined as the tuple 4>0. In the decode tree, go to the node for symbol 4, then add a path that represents symbol 0. At symbol 4, add the L path. The terminating node is symbol 5. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of RRLLL, which translates to the binary format of 11000.

Symbol 6 is defined as the tuple 2>5. In the decode tree, go to the node for symbol 2, then add a path that represents symbol 5. From the root to the node for symbol 5, the path is RRLLL. The terminating node is symbol 6. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of RLRRLLL, which translates to the binary format of 1011000.

Symbol 7 is defined as the tuple 0>6. In the decode tree, go to the node for symbol 0, then add a path that represents symbol 6. From the root to the node for symbol 6, the path is RLRRLLL. The terminating node is symbol 7. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of LRLRRLLL, which translates to the binary format of 01011000.

Decompress the Data

To decompress the data, we need the reconstructed Huffman tree and the decode table that maps the symbols to their original bits as seen at 75, FIG. 75. We read the bits in the data file one bit at a time, following the branching path in the Huffman tree from the root to a node that represents a symbol.

The compressed file data bits are:

010000111111111111111111111111111011001110110011111111011001011000 11000110001100011000101101010

For example, the first four bits of encoded data 0100 takes us to symbol 0 in the Huffman tree, as illustrated in the diagram 76, FIG. 76. We look up 0 in the decode tree and table to find the original bits. In this case, the original bits are also 0. We replace 0100 with the single bit 0.

In the diagram 77 in FIG. 77, we follow the next two bits 00 to find symbol 5 in the Huffman tree. We look up 5 in the decode tree and table to find that symbol 5 represents original bits of 11000. We replace 00 with 11000.

In the diagram 78, FIG. 78, we follow the next bit 1 to find symbol 7 in the Huffman tree. We look up 7 in the decode tree and table to find that symbol 7 represents the original bits 01011000. We replace the single bit 1 with 01011000. We repeat this for each 1 in the series of 1s that follow.

The next symbol we discover is with bits 011. We follow these bits in the Huffman tree in diagram 79, FIG. 79. We look up symbol 3 in the decode tree and table to find that it represents original bits 100, so we replace 011 with bits 100.

We continue the decoding and replacement process to discover the symbol 2 near the end of the stream with bits 01011, as illustrated in diagram 80, FIG. 80. We look up symbol 2 in the decode tree and table to find that it represents original bits 10, so we replace 01011 with bits 10.

The final unique sequence of bits that we discover is the end-of-file sequence of 01010, as illustrated in diagram 81, FIG. 81. The EOF tells us that we are done unpacking.

Altogether, the unpacking of compressed bits recovers the original bits of the original data stream in the order of diagram 82 spread across two FIGS. 82 a and 82 b.

With reference to FIG. 83, a representative computing system environment 100 includes a computing device 120. Representatively, the device is a general or special purpose computer, a phone, a PDA, a server, a laptop, etc., having a hardware platform 128. The hardware platform includes physical I/O and platform devices, memory (M), processor (P), such as a CPU(s), USB or other interfaces (X), drivers (D), etc. In turn, the hardware platform hosts one or more virtual machines in the form of domains 130-1 (domain 0, or management domain), 130-2 (domain U1), . . . 130-n (domain Un), each having its own guest operating system (O.S.) (e.g., Linux, Windows, Netware, Unix, etc.), applications 140-1, 140-2, . . . 140-n, file systems, etc. The workloads of each virtual machine also consume data stored on one or more disks 121.

An intervening Xen or other hypervisor layer 150, also known as a “virtual machine monitor,” or virtualization manager, serves as a virtual interface to the hardware and virtualizes the hardware. It is also the lowest and most privileged layer and performs scheduling control between the virtual machines as they task the resources of the hardware platform, e.g., memory, processor, storage, network (N) (by way of network interface cards, for example), etc. The hypervisor also manages conflicts, among other things, caused by operating system access to privileged machine instructions. The hypervisor can also be type 1 (native) or type 2 (hosted). According to various partitions, the operating systems, applications, application data, boot data, or other data, executable instructions, etc., of the machines are virtually stored on the resources of the hardware platform. Alternatively, the computing system environment is not a virtual environment at all, but a more traditional environment lacking a hypervisor, and partitioned virtual domains. Also, the environment could include dedicated services or those hosted on other devices.

In any embodiment, the representative computing device 120 is arranged to communicate 180 with one or more other computing devices or networks. In this regard, the devices may use wired, wireless or combined connections to other devices/networks and may be direct or indirect connections. If direct, they typify connections within physical or network proximity (e.g., intranet). If indirect, they typify connections such as those found with the internet, satellites, radio transmissions, or the like. The connections may also be local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), metro area networks (MAN), etc., that are presented by way of example and not limitation. The topology is also any of a variety, such as ring, star, bridged, cascaded, meshed, or other known or hereinafter invented arrangement.

In still other embodiments, skilled artisans will appreciate that enterprises can implement some or all of the foregoing with humans, such as system administrators, computing devices, executable code, or combinations thereof. In turn, methods and apparatus of the invention further contemplate computer executable instructions, e.g., code or software, as part of computer program products on readable media, e.g., disks for insertion in a drive of a computing device 120, or available as downloads or direct use from an upstream computing device. When described in the context of such computer program products, it is denoted that items thereof, such as modules, routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types within various structures of the computing system which cause a certain function or group of function, and such are well known in the art.

While the foregoing produces a well-compressed output file, e.g., FIG. 69, skilled artisans should appreciate that the algorithm requires relatively considerable processing time to determine a Huffman tree, e.g., element 50, and a dictionary, e.g., element 26, of optimal symbols for use in encoding and compressing an original file. Also, the time spent to determine the key information of the file is significantly longer than the time spent to encode and compress the file with the key. The following embodiment, therefore, describes a technique to use a file's compression byproducts to compress other data files that contain substantially similar patterns. The effectiveness of the resultant compression depends on how similar a related file's patterns are to the original file's patterns. As will be seen, using previously created, but related key, decreases the processing time to a small fraction of the time needed for the full process above, but at the expense of a slightly less effective compression. The process can be said to achieve a “fast approximation” to optimal compression for the related files.

The definitions from FIG. 1 still apply.

Broadly, the “fast approximation” hereafter 1) greatly reduces the processing time needed to compress a file using the techniques above, and 2) creates and uses a decode tree to identify the most complex possible pattern from an input bit stream that matches previously defined patterns. Similar to earlier embodiments, this encoding method requires repetitive computation that can be automated by computer software. The following discusses the logical processes involved.

Compression Procedure Using a Fast Approximation to Optimal Compression

Instead of using the iterative process of discovery of the optimal set of symbols, above, the following uses the symbols that were previously created for another file that contains patterns significantly similar to those of the file under consideration. In a high-level flow, the process involves the following tasks:

Select a file that was previously compressed using the procedure(s) in FIGS. 2-82 b. The file should contain data patterns that are significantly similar to the current file under consideration for compression.

From the previously compressed file, read its key information and unpack its Huffman tree and symbol dictionary by using the procedure described above, e.g., FIGS. 63-82 b.

Create a decode tree for the current file by using the symbol dictionary from the original file.

Identify and count the number of occurrences of patterns in the current file that match the previously defined patterns.

Create a Huffman encoding tree for the symbols that occur in the current file plus an end-of-file (EOF) symbol.

Store the information using the Huffman tree for the current file plus the file type, symbol width, and dictionary from the original file.

Each of the tasks is described in more detail below. An example is provided thereafter.

Selecting a Previously Compressed File

The objective of the fast approximation method is to take advantage of the key information 200 in an optimally compressed file that was created by using the techniques above. In its uncompressed form of original data, the compressed file should contain data patterns that are significantly similar to the patterns in the current file under consideration for compression. The effectiveness of the resultant compression depends on how similar a related file's patterns are to the original file's patterns. The way a skilled artisan recognizes a similar file is that similar bit patterns are found in the originally compressed and new file yet to be compressed. It can be theorized a priori that files are likely similar if they have similar formatting (e.g., text, audio, image, powerpoint, spreadsheet, etc), topic content, tools used to create the files, file type, etc. Conclusive evidence of similar bit patterns is that similar compression ratios will occur on both files, i.e., original file compresses to 35% of original size, while target file also compresses to about 35% of original size. It should be noted that similar file sizes are not a requisite for similar patterns being present in both files.

With reference to FIG. 84, the key information 200 of a file includes the file type, symbol width, Huffman tree, and dictionary from an earlier file (e.g., file 69, FIG. 69).

Reading and Unpacking the Key Information

From the key information 200, read and unpack the File Type, Maximum Symbol Width, Huffman Tree, and Dictionary fields.

Creating a Decode Tree for the Current File

Create a pattern decode tree using the symbol dictionary retrieved from the key information. Each symbol represents a bit pattern from the original data stream. We determine what those bits are by building a decode tree, and then parsing the tree to read the bit patterns for each symbol.

We use the tuples that are defined in the re-constructed dictionary to build the decode tree. The pattern decode tree is formed as a tree that begins at the root and branches downward. A terminal node represents a symbol ID value. A transition node is a placeholder for a bit that leads to terminal nodes.

Identifying and Counting Pattern Occurrences

Read the bit stream of the current file one bit at a time. As the data stream is parsed from left to right, the paths in the decode tree are traversed to detect patterns in the data that match symbols in the original dictionary.

Starting from the root of the pattern decode tree, use the value of each input bit to determine the descent path thru the pattern decode tree. A “0” indicates a path down and to the left, while a “1” indicates a path down and to the right. Continue descending through the decode tree until there is no more descent path available. This can occur because a branch left is indicated with no left branch available, or a branch right is indicated with no right branch available.

When the end of the descent path is reached, one of the following occurs:

If the descent path ends in a terminal node, count the symbol ID found there.

If the descent path ends in a transition node, retrace the descent path toward the root, until a terminal node is encountered. This terminal node represents the most complex pattern that could be identified in the input bit stream. For each level of the tree ascended, replace the bit that the path represents back into the bit stream because those bits form the beginning of the next pattern to be discovered. Count the symbol ID found in the terminal node.

Return to the root of the decode tree and continue with the next bit in the data stream to find the next symbol.

Repeat this process until all of the bits in the stream have been matched to patterns in the decode tree. When done, there exists a list of all of the symbols that occur in the bit stream and the frequency of occurrence for each symbol.

Creating a Huffman Tree and Code for the Current File

Use the frequency information to create a Huffman encoding tree for the symbols that occur in the current file. Include the end-of-file (EOF) symbol when constructing the tree and determining the code.

Storing the Compressed File

Use the Huffman tree for the current file to encode its data. The information needed to decompress the file is written at the front of the compressed file, as well as to a separate dictionary only file. The compressed file contains:

The file type and maximum symbol width information from the original file's key

A coded representation of the Huffman tree that was created for the current file and used to compress its data,

The dictionary of symbols from the original file's key,

The Huffman-encoded data, and

The Huffman-encoded EOF symbol.

Example of “Fast Approximation”

This example uses the key information 200 from a previously created but related compressed file to approximate the symbols needed to compress a different file.

Reading and Unpacking the Key Information

With reference to table 202, FIG. 85, a representative dictionary of symbols (0-8) was unpacked from the key information 200 for a previously compressed file. The symbols 0 and 1 are atomic, according to definition (FIG. 1) in that they represent bits 0 and 1, respectively. The reading and unpacking this dictionary from the key information is given above.

Construct the Decode Tree from the Dictionary

With reference to FIG. 86, a diagram 204 demonstrates the process of building the decode tree for each of the symbols in the dictionary (FIG. 85) and determining the original bits represented by each of the symbols in the dictionary. In the decode tree, there are also terminal nodes, e.g., 205, and transition nodes, e.g., 206. A terminal node represents a symbol value. A transition node does not represent a symbol, but represents additional bits in the path to the next symbol. The step-by-step reconstruction of the original bits is described below.

Start with symbols 0 and 1. These are the atomic elements, by definition, so there is no related tuple as in the dictionary of FIG. 85. The symbol 0 branches left and down from the root. The symbol 1 branches right and down from the root. (Left and right are relative to the node as you are facing the diagram—that is, on your left and on your right.) The atomic elements are each represented by a single bit, so the binary path and the original path are the same. You record the “original bits” 0 and 1 in the decode table 210, as well as its “branch path.”

Symbol 2 is defined from the dictionary as the tuple 1>0 (symbol 1 followed by symbol 0). In the decode tree 212, go to the node for symbol 1 (which is transition node 205 followed by a right path R and ending in a terminal node 206, or arrow 214), then add a path that represents symbol 0 (which is transition node 205 followed by a left path L and ending in a terminal node 206, or path 216). That is, you add a left branch at node 1. The terminating node 220 is the symbol 2. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the branch paths of right (R) and left (L). Replace each left branch with a 0 and each right path with a 1 to view the binary form of the path as RL, or binary 10 as in decode table 210.

Symbol 3 is defined as the tuple 2>0. In its decode tree 230, it is the same as the decode tree for symbol 2, which is decode tree 212, followed by the “0.” Particularly, in tree 230, go to the node for symbol 2, then add a path that represents symbol 0. That is, you add a left branch (e.g., arrow 216) at node 2. The terminating node is the symbol 3. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the branch path of RLL. Replace each left branch with a 0 and each right path with a 1 to view the binary format of 100 as in the decode table.

Similarly, the other symbols are defined with decode trees building on the decode trees for other symbols. In particular, they are as follows:

Symbol 4 from the dictionary is defined as the tuple 1>3. In its decode tree, go to the node for symbol 1, then add a path that represents symbol 3. From the root to the node for symbol 3, the path is RLL. At symbol 1, add the RLL path. The terminating node is symbol 4. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of RRLL, which translates to the binary format of 1100 as in the decode table.

Symbol 5 is defined as the tuple 4>0. In its decode tree, go to the node for symbol 4, then add a path that represents symbol 0. At symbol 4, add the L path. The terminating node is symbol 5. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of RRLLL, which translates to the binary format of 11000.

Symbol 6 is defined as the tuple 5>3. In its decode tree, go to the node for symbol 5, then add a path that represents symbol 3. The terminating node is symbol 6. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of RRLLLRLL, which translates to the binary format of 11000100.

Symbol 7 is defined from the dictionary as the tuple 5>0. In its decode tree, go to the node for symbol 5, then add a path that represents symbol 0. From the root to the node for symbol 5, the path is RRLLL. Add a left branch. The terminating node is symbol 7. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of RRLLLL, which translates to the binary format of 110000.

Finally, symbol 8 is defined in the dictionary as the tuple 7>2. In its decode tree, go to the node for symbol 7, then add a path that represents symbol 2. From the root to the node for symbol 7, the path is RRLLLL. Add a RL path for symbol 2. The terminating node is symbol 8. Traverse the path from the root to the leaf to read the path of RRLLLLRL, which translates to the binary format of 11000010.

The final decode tree for all symbols put together in a single tree is element 240, FIG. 87, and the decode table 210 is populated with all original bit and branch path information.

Identifying and Counting Pattern Occurrences

For this example, the sample or “current file” to be compressed is similar to the one earlier compressed who's key information 200, FIG. 84, was earlier extracted. It contains the following representative “bit stream” (reproduced in FIG. 88, with spaces for readability):

011000010110001001100001011000100110000101100001011000100110000101 100010011000010110000101100010011000010110001001100001011000100110000101100010 011000100110001001100010011000100110000101100001011000100110000101100010011000 0101100010

We step through the stream one bit at a time to match patterns in the stream to the known symbols from the dictionary 200, FIG. 85. To determine the next pattern in the bit stream, we look for the longest sequence of bits that match a known symbol. To discover symbols in the new data bit stream, read a single bit at a time from the input bit stream. Representatively, the very first bit, 250 FIG. 88, of the bit stream is a “0.” With reference to the Decode Tree, 240 in FIG. 87, start at the top-most (the root) node of the tree. The “0” input bit indicates a down and left “Branch Path” from the root node. The next bit from the source bit stream at position 251 in FIG. 88, is a “1,” indicating a down and right path. The Decode Tree does not have a defined path down and right from the current node. However the current node is a terminal node, with a symbol ID of 0. Write a symbol 0 to a temporary file, and increment the counter corresponding to symbol ID 0. Return to the root node of the Decode Tree, and begin looking for the next symbol. The “1” bit that was not previously usable in the decode (e.g., 251 in FIG. 88) indicates a down and right. The next bit “1” (252 in FIG. 88) indicates a down and right. Similarly, subsequent bits “000010” indicate further descents in the decode tree with paths directions of LLLLRL, resulting in path 254 from the root. The next bit “1” (position 255, FIG. 88) denotes a further down and right path, which does not exist in the decode tree 240, as we are presently at a terminal node. The symbol ID for this terminal node is 8. Write a symbol 8 to the temporary file, and increment the counter corresponding to symbol ID 8.

Return to the root node of the Decode Tree, and begin looking for the next symbol again starting with the last unused input stream bit, e.g., the bit “1” at position 255, FIG. 88. Subsequent bits in the source bit stream, “11000100,” lead down through the Decode Tree to a terminal node for symbol 6. The next bit, “1”, at position 261, FIG. 88, does not represent a possible down and right traversal path. Thus, write a symbol 6 to the temporary file, and increment the counter corresponding to symbol ID 6. Again, starting back at the root of the tree, perform similar decodes and book keeping to denote discovery of symbols 86886868868686866666886868. Starting again at the root of the Decode Tree, parse the paths represented by input bits “1100010” beginning at position 262. There are no more bits available in the input stream. However, the current position in the Decode Tree, position 268, does not identify a known symbol. Thus, retrace the Decode Tree path upward toward the root. On each upward level node transition, replace a bit at the front of the input bit stream with a bit that represents that path transition; e.g. up and right is a “0”, up and left is a “1”. Continue the upward parse until reaching a valid symbol ID node, in this case the node 267 for symbol ID 5. In the process, two bits (e.g., positions 263 and 264, FIG. 88) will have been pushed back onto the input stream, a “0”, and then a “1.” As before, write a symbol 5 to a temporary file, and increment the counter corresponding to symbol ID 5. Starting back at the root of the tree, bits are pulled from the input stream and parsed downward, in this case the “1” and then the “0” at positions 263 and 264. As we are now out of input bits, after position 264, examine the current node for a valid symbol ID, which in this case does exist at node 269, a symbol ID of 2. Write a symbol 2 to the temporary files, increment the corresponding counter. All input bits have now been decoded to previously defined symbols. The entire contents of the temporary file are symbols: “0868688686886868686666688686852.”

From here, the frequency of occurrence of each of the symbols in the new bit stream is counted. For example, the symbols “0” and 2″ are each found occurring once at the beginning and end of the new bit stream. Similarly, the symbol “5” is counted once just before the symbol “2.” Each of the symbols “6” and “8” are counted fourteen times in the middle of the new bit stream for a total of thirty-one symbols. Its result is shown in table 275, FIG. 89. Also, one count for the end of file (EOF) symbol is added that is needed to mark the end of the encoded data when we store the compressed data.

Creating a Huffman Tree and Code for the Current File

From the symbol “counts” in FIG. 89, a Huffman binary code tree 280 is built for the current file, as seen in FIG. 90. There is no Huffman code assigned to the symbol 1, symbol 3, symbol 4, and symbol 7 because there are no instances of these symbols in the new bit stream. However, the extinct symbols will be needed in the decode table for the tree. The reason for this is that a complex symbol may decode to two less complex symbols. For example, it is known that a symbol 8 decodes to tuple 7>2, e.g., FIG. 85.

To construct the tree 280, list first the symbols from highest count to lowest count. In this example, the symbol “8” and symbol “6” tied with a count of fourteen and are each listed highest on the tree. On the other hand, the least counted symbols were each of symbol “0,” “2,” “5,” and the EOF. Combine the counts for the two least frequently occurring symbols in the dictionary. This creates a node that has the value of the sum of the two counts. In this example, the EOF and 0 are combined into a single node 281 as are the symbols 2 and 5 at node 283. Together, all four of these symbols combine into a node 285. Continue combining the two lowest counts in this manner until there is only one symbol remaining. This generates a Huffman binary code tree.

Label the code tree paths with zeros (0s) and ones (1s). To encode a symbol, parse from the root to the symbol. Each left and down path represents a 0 in the Huffman code. Each right and down path represents a 1 in the Huffman code. The Huffman coding scheme assigns shorter code words to the more frequent symbols, which helps reduce the size length of the encoded data. The Huffman code for a symbol is defined as the string of values associated with each path transition from the root to the symbol terminal node.

With reference to FIG. 91, table 290 shows the final Huffman code for the current file, as based on the tree. For example, the symbol “8” appears with the Huffman code 0. From the tree, and knowing the rule that “0” is a left and down path, the “8” should appear from the root at down and left, as it does. Similarly, the symbol “5” should appear at “1011” or right and down, left and down, right and down, and right and down, as it does. Similarly, the other symbols are found. There is no code for symbols 1, 3, 4, and 7, however, because they do not appear in the current file.

Storing the Compressed File

The diagram in FIG. 92 illustrates how we now replace the symbols with their Huffman code value when the file is stored, such as in file format element 69, FIG. 69. As is seen, the diagram 295 shows the original bit stream that is coded to symbols or a new bit stream, then coded to Huffman codes. For example, the “0” bit at position 250 in the original bit stream coded to a symbol “0” as described in FIG. 88. By replacing the symbol 0 with its Huffman code (1001) from table 290, FIG. 91, the Huffman encoded bits are seen, as:

1001 0 11 0 11 0 0 11 0 11 0 0 11 0 11 0 11 0 11 11 11 11 11 0 0 11 0 11 0

1011 1010 1000

Spaces are shown between the coded bits for readability; the spaces are not written to media. Also, the code for the EOF symbol (1000) is placed at the end of the encoded data and shown in underline.

With reference to FIG. 93, the foregoing information is stored in the compressed file 69′ for the current file. As skilled artisans will notice, it includes both original or re-used information and new information, thereby resulting in a “fast approximation.” In detail, it includes the file type from the original key information (200), the symbol width from the original key information (200), the new Huffman coding recently created for the new file, the dictionary from the key information (200) of the original file, the data that is encoded by using the new Huffman tree, and the new EOF symbol. After the EOF symbol, a variable amount of pad bits are added to align the data with the final byte in storage.

In still another alternate embodiment, the following describes technology to identify a file by its contents. It is defined, in one sense, as providing a file's “digital spectrum.” The spectrum, in turn, is used to define a file's position in an N-dimensional universe. This universe provides a basis by which a file's position determines similarity, adjacency, differentiation and grouping relative to other files. Ultimately, similar files can originate many new compression features, such as the “fast approximations” described above. The terminology defined in FIG. 1 remains valid as does the earlier-presented information for compression and/or fast approximations using similar files. It is supplemented with the definitions in FIG. 94. Also, the following considers an alternate use of the earlier described symbols to define a digital variance in a file. For simplicity in this embodiment, a data stream under consideration is sometimes referred to as a “file.”

The set of values that digitally identifies the file, referred to as the file's digital spectrum, consists of several pieces of information found in two scalar values and two vectors.

The scalar values are:

The number of symbols in the symbol dictionary (the dictionary being previously determined above.)

The number of symbols also represents the number of dimensions in the N-dimensional universe, and thus, the number of coordinates in the vectors.

The length of the source file in bits.

This is the total number of bits in the symbolized data stream after replacing each symbol with the original bits that the symbol represents.

The vectors are:

An ordered vector of frequency counts, where each count represents the number of times a particular symbol is detected in the symbolized data stream.

F _(x)=(F _(0x) ,F _(1x) ,F _(2x) ,F _(3x) , . . . ,F _(Nx)),

where F represents the symbol frequency vector, 0 to N are the symbols in a file's symbol dictionary, and x represents the source file of interest.

An ordered vector of bit lengths, where each bit length represents the number of bits that are represented by a particular symbol.

B _(x)=(B _(0x) ,B _(1x) ,B _(2x) ,B _(3x) , . . . ,B _(Nx)),

where B represents the bit-length vector, 0 to N are the symbols in a file's symbol dictionary, and x represents the source file of interest.

The symbol frequency vector can be thought of as a series of coordinates in an N-dimensional universe where N is the number of symbols defined in the alphabet of the dictionary, and the counts represent the distance from the origin along the related coordinate axis. The vector describes the file's informational position in the N-dimension universe. The meaning of each dimension is defined by the meaning of its respective symbol.

The origin of N-dimensional space is an ordered vector with a value of 0 for each coordinate:

F _(O)=(0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, . . . ,0).

The magnitude of the frequency vector is calculated relative to the origin. An azimuth in each dimension can also be determined using ordinary trigonometry, which may be used at a later time. By using Pythagorean geometry, the distance from the origin to any point F_(x) in the N-dimensional space can be calculated, i.e.:

D _(ox)=square root(((F _(0x) −F _(0o))̂2)+((F _(1x) −F _(1o))̂2)+((F _(2x) −F _(2o)))̂2)+((F _(3x) −F _(3o)))̂2)+ . . . +((F _(Nx) −F _(No)))̂2))

Substituting the 0 at each coordinate for the values at the origin, the simplified equation is:

D _(ox)=square root((F _(0x))̂2)+(F _(1x))̂2)+(F _(2x))̂2)+(F _(3x))̂2)+ . . . +(F _(Nx))̂2))

As an example, imagine that a file has 10 possible symbols and the frequency vector for the file is:

F _(x)=(3,5,6,1,0,7,19,3,6,22).

Since this vector also describes the file's informational position in this 10-dimension universe, its distance from the origin can be calculated using the geometry outlined. Namely:

Dox=square root(((3−0)̂2)+((5−0)̂2)+((6−0)̂2)+((6−0)̂2)+((1−0)̂2)+((0−0)̂2)+((7−0)̂2)+((19−0)̂2)+((3−0)̂2)+((6−0)̂2)+((22−0)̂2))

Dox=31.78.

Determining a Characteristic Digital Spectrum

To create a digital spectrum for a file under current consideration, we begin with the key information 200, FIG. 84, which resulted from an original file of interest. The digital spectrum determined for this original file is referred to as the characteristic digital spectrum. A digital spectrum for a related file of interest, on the other hand, is determined by its key information from another file. Its digital spectrum is referred to as a related digital spectrum.

The key information actually selected for the characteristic digital spectrum is considered to be a “well-suited key.” A “well-suited key” is a key best derived from original data that is substantially similar to the current data in a current file or source file to be examined. The key might even be the actual compression key for the source file under consideration. However, to eventually use the digital spectrum information for the purpose of file comparisons and grouping, it is necessary to use a key that is not optimal for any specific file, but that can be used to define the N-dimensional symbol universe in which all the files of interest are positioned and compared. The more closely a key matches a majority of the files to be examined, the more meaningful it is during subsequent comparisons.

The well-suited key can be used to derive the digital spectrum information for the characteristic file that we use to define the N-dimensional universe in which we will analyze the digital spectra of other files. From above, the following information is known about the characteristic digital spectrum of the file:

The number of symbols (N) in the symbol dictionary

The length of the source file in bits

An ordered vector of symbol frequency counts

F _(i)=(F _(0i) ,F _(1i) ,F _(2i) ,F _(3i) , . . . ,F _(Ni)),

where F represents the symbol frequency, 0 to N are the symbols in the characteristic file's symbol dictionary, and i represents the characteristic file of interest.

An ordered vector of bit lengths

B _(i)=(B _(0i) ,B _(1i) ,B _(2i) ,B _(3i) , . . . ,B _(Ni)),

where B represents the bit-length vector, 0 to N are the symbols in the characteristic file's symbol dictionary, and i represents the characteristic file of interest.

Determining a Related Digital Spectrum

Using the key information and digital spectrum of the characteristic file, execute the process described in the fast approximation embodiment for a current, related file of interest, but with the following changes:

Create a symbol frequency vector that contains one coordinate position for the set of symbols described in the characteristic file's symbol dictionary.

F _(j)=(F _(0j) ,F _(1j) ,F _(2j) ,F _(3j) , . . . ,F _(Nj)),

where F represents the symbol frequency, 0 to N are the symbols in the characteristic file's symbol dictionary, and j represents the related file of interest. Initially, the count for each symbol is zero (0).

Parse the data stream of the related file of interest for symbols. As the file is parsed, conduct the following:

Tally the instance of each discovered symbol in its corresponding coordinate position in the symbol frequency vector. That is, increment the respective counter for a symbol each time it is detected in the source file.

Do not Huffman encode or write the detected symbol.

Continue parsing until the end of the file is reached.

At the completion of the source file parsing, write a digital spectrum output file that contains the following:

The number of symbols (N) in the symbol dictionary

The length of the source file in bits

The symbol frequency vector developed in the previous steps.

F _(j)=(F _(0v) ,F _(1j) ,F _(2j) ,F _(3j) , . . . ,F _(Nj)),

where F represents the frequency vector, 0 to N are the symbols in the characteristic file's symbol dictionary, and the j represents the file of interest.

The bit length vector

B _(j)=(B _(0j) ,B _(1j) ,B _(2j) ,B _(3j) , . . . ,B _(Nj)),

where B represents the bit-length vector, 0 to N are the symbols in the characteristic file's symbol dictionary, and j represents the file of interest.

Advantages of Digital Spectrum Analysis

The digital spectrum of a file can be used to catalog a file's position in an N-dimensional space. This position in space, or digital spectrum, can be used to compute “distances” between file positions, and hence similarity, e.g., the closer the distance, the closer the similarity. The notion of a digital spectrum may eventually lead to the notion of a self-cataloging capability of digital files, or other.

Begin: Example Defining a File's Digital Spectrum

To demonstrate the foregoing embodiment, the digital spectrum will be determined for a small data file that contains the following simple ASCII characters:

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabaaabaaaaaaaababbbbbb  (eqn. 100)

Each character is stored as a sequence of eight bits that correlates to the ASCII code assigned to the character. The bit values for each character are:

a=01100001  (eqn. 101)

b=01100010  (eqn. 102)

By substituting the bits of equations 101 and 102 for the “a” and “b” characters in equation 100, a data stream 30 results as seen in FIG. 9. (Again, the characters are separated in the Figure with spaces for readability, but the spaces are not considered, just the characters.)

After performing an optimal compression of the data by using the process defined above in early embodiments, the symbols remaining in the data stream 30-7 are seen in FIG. 55. Alternatively, they are shown here as:

0577777777777777777777777777735777357777777735735353535352  (eqn. 103)

With reference to FIG. 95, table 300 identifies the symbol definitions from equation 103 and the bits they represent. The symbol definition 302 identifies the alphabet of symbols determined from the data during the compression process. The symbols 0 and 1 are atomic symbols and represent original bits 0 and 1, by definition. The subsequent symbols, i.e., 2-7, are defined by tuples, or ordered pairs of symbols, that are represented in the data, e.g., symbol 4 corresponds to a “1” followed by a “3,” or 1>3. In turn, each symbol represents a series or sequence of bits 304 in the data stream of equation 103 (the source file), e.g., symbol 4 corresponds to original bits 1100.

With reference to table 310, FIG. 96, the number of occurrences of each symbol is counted in the data stream (equation 103) and the number of bits represented by each symbol is counted. For example, the symbol “7” in equation 103 appears thirty nine (39) times. In that its original bits 304, correspond to “01011000,” it has eight (8) original bits appearing in the data stream for every instance of a “symbol 7” appearing. For a grand total of numbers of bits, the symbol count 312 is multiplied by the bit length 314 to arrive at a bit count 316. In this instance, thirty nine (39) is multiplied by eight (8) to achieve a bit count of three-hundred twelve (312) for the symbol 7. A grand total of the number of bit counts 316 for every symbol 320 gives a length of the source file 325 in numbers of bits. In this instance, the source file length (in bits) is three-hundred eighty-four (384).

In turn, the scalar values to be used in the file's digital spectrum are:

Source File Length in bits=384

Number of Symbols=8 total (or symbols 0 through 7, column 320, FIG. 96)

The vectors to be used in the file's digital spectrum are:

Frequency spectrum, F_(x), represented by the ordered vector of counts for each symbol, from column 312, FIG. 96:

F _(x)=(1,0,1,8,0,9,0,39)

Bit length spectrum, Bx, is represented by the ordered vector of counts for the original bits in the file that are represented by each symbol, from column 314, FIG. 96:

B _(x)=(1,1,2,3,4,5,7,8)

The digital spectrum information can be used to calculate various useful characteristics regarding the file from which it was derived, as well as its relationship to other spectra, and the files from which the other spectra were derived. As an example, the frequency spectrum F(x) shown above, may be thought to describe a file's informational position in an 8-dimension universe, where the meaning of each dimension is defined by the meaning of its respective symbols.

Since the origin of the 8-dimensional space is an ordered vector with a value of 0 at each symbol position, e.g., F(0)=(0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0), the informational position in 8-dimensional space can be defined as an azimuth and distance from the origin. The magnitude of the position vector is calculated using Pythagorean geometry. Dist(x,0)=sqrt(((F(x,0)−F(00)̂2)+ . . . (F(x,7)−F(0,7)̂2)). Simplified, this magnitude becomes Dist(x,0)=sqrt((F(x,0)̂2+F(x,2)̂2+F(x,3)̂2 . . . F(x,7)̂2)). Using the values above in F_(X), the magnitude of the Dist(x,0)=40.84, or D_(x0)=square root(((1)̂2)+((0)̂2)+((1)̂2)+((8)̂2)+((0)̂2)+((9)̂2)+((0)̂2)+((39)̂2))=square root(1+0+1+64+0+81+0+1521)=40.84. Azimuth of the vector can be computed using basic trigonometry.

Using information found in the digital spectra of a group of files, an analysis can be done to determine similarity, or not, of two or more subject files. Information from the digital spectrum is used to create an information statistic for a file. Statistics found to be pertinent in doing this analysis include at least:

S1) Frequency of occurrence of each possible symbol (FREQ)

S2) Normalized frequency of occurrence of each possible symbol (NORM FREQ)

S3) Informational content of occurrence of each symbol (INFO)

S4) Normalized information content of occurrence of each symbol (NORM INFO)

For ease of reference, statistic S1 can be called FREQ for frequency, statistic S2 can be called NORM FREQ for normalized frequency, statistic S3 can be called INFO for informational content, and statistic S4 can be called NORM INFO for normalized informational content. A further discussion is given below for each of these statistical values.

As a first example, a digital spectra of three files, F1, F2, and F3 is given with respect to a common set of “N” symbols, e.g., symbols 1, symbol 2 and symbol 3. Each file is processed looking for the number of times each symbol is found in the file. The frequency of each symbol as it is found in each file is recorded along with a total number of symbols in each file. For this example, their respective spectra are:

File Description Total Symbol 1 Symbol 2 Symbol 3 File 1 Number of Symbols 3 Sum of all Symbol 9 Occurrences Symbol frequencies 2 4 3 Symbol bits sized 7 6 10 File 2 Number of Symbols 3 Sum of all Symbol 8 Occurrences Symbol frequencies 4 2 2 Symbol bits sized 7 6 10 File 3 Number of Symbols 3 Sum of all Symbol 27 Occurrences Symbol frequencies 8 11 8 Symbol bits sized 7 6 10

Using a relevant pattern-derived statistic (possibly including S1, S2, S3, or S4 above), a vector of values is calculated for the N symbol definitions that may occur in each file. A position in N-dimensional space is determined using this vector, where the distance along each axis in N-space is determined by the statistic describing its corresponding symbol.

Specifically in this example, we will use statistic Si (FREQ) and we have three (3) common symbols that we are using to compare these files and so a 3-dimensional space is determined. Each file is then defined as a position in this 3-dimensional space using a vector of magnitude 3 for each file. The first value in each vector is the frequency of symbol 1 in that file, the second value is the frequency of symbol 2, and the third value is the frequency of symbol 3.

With reference to FIG. 97, these three example files are plotted. The frequency vectors are F1=(2, 4, 3), F2=(4, 2, 2), and F3=(8, 11, 8). The relative position in 3-space (N=3) for each of these files is readily seen.

A matrix is created with the statistic chosen to represent each file. A matrix using the symbol frequency as the statistic looks like the following:

FileID Sym1 Sym2 Sym3 F1 2 4 3 F2 4 2 2 F3 8 11 8

Using Pythagorean arithmetic, the distance (D) between the positions of any two files (Fx, Fy) is calculated as

D(Fx,Fy)=√{square root over ((Fx ₁ −Fy ₁)²+(Fx ₂ −Fy ₂)²+(Fx _(n) −Fy _(n))²)}{square root over ((Fx ₁ −Fy ₁)²+(Fx ₂ −Fy ₂)²+(Fx _(n) −Fy _(n))²)}{square root over ((Fx ₁ −Fy ₁)²+(Fx ₂ −Fy ₂)²+(Fx _(n) −Fy _(n))²)}  (1)

In the example above, the distance between the position of F1 and F2 is

√{square root over ((2−4)²+(4−2)²+(3−2)²)}{square root over ((2−4)²+(4−2)²+(3−2)²)}{square root over ((2−4)²+(4−2)²+(3−2)²)}−√{square root over ((4+4+1))}=√{square root over (9)}=3.00  (2)

Similarly, the distance between F1 and F3 is found by

√{square root over ((2−8)²+(4−11)²+(3−8)²)}{square root over ((2−8)²+(4−11)²+(3−8)²)}{square root over ((2−8)²+(4−11)²+(3−8)²)}=√{square root over ((36+49+25))}+√{square root over (110)}=10.49

A matrix of distances between all possible files is built. In the above example this matrix would look like this:

Distance between files F1 F2 F3 F1 0.00 3.00 10.49 F2 3.00 0.00 11.53 F3 10.49 11.53 0.00

It can be seen graphically in FIG. 97, that the position of File 1 is closer to File 2 than it is to File 3. It can also be seen in FIG. 97 that File 2 is closer to File 1 than it is to File 3. File 3 is closest to File 1; File 2 is slightly further away.

Each row of the matrix is then sorted, such that the lowest distance value is on the left, and the highest value is on the right. During the sort process, care is taken to keep the File ID associated with each value. The intent is to determine an ordered distance list with each file as a reference. The above matrix would sort to this:

Sorted Distance between files File Distance F1 F1 (0.00) F2 (3.00) F3 (10.49) F2 F2 (0.00) F1 (3.00) F3 (11.53) F3 F3 (0.00) F1 (10.49) F2 (11.53)

Using this sorted matrix, the same conclusions that were previously reached by visual examination can now be determined mathematically. Exclude column 1, wherein it is obvious that the closest file to a given file is itself (or a distance value of 0.00). Column 2 now shows that the closest neighbor to F1 is F2, the closest neighbor to F2 is F1, and the closest neighbor the F3 is F1.

Of course, this concept can be expanded to hundreds, thousands, or millions or more of files and hundreds, thousands, or millions or more of symbols. While the matrices and vectors are larger and might take more time to process, the math and basic algorithms are the same. For example, consider a situation in which there exists 10,000 files and 2,000 symbols.

Each file would have a vector of length 2000. The statistic chosen to represent the value of each symbol definition with respect to each file is calculated and placed in the vector representing that file. An information position in 2000-space (N=2000) is determined by using the value in each vector position to represent the penetration along the axis of each of the 2000 dimensions. This procedure is done for each file in the analysis. With the statistic value matrix created, the distances between each file position are calculated using the above distance formula. A matrix that has 10,000 by 10,000 cells is created, for the 10,000 files under examination. The content of each cell is the calculated distance between the two files identified by the row and column of the matrix. The initial distance matrix would be 10,000×10,000 with the diagonal values all being 0. The sorted matrix would also be 10,000 by 10,000 with the first column being all zeros.

In a smaller example, say ten files, the foregoing can be much more easily demonstrated using actual tables represented as text tables in this document. An initial matrix containing the distance information of ten files might look like this.

Distance Matrix Files F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F1 0.0 17.4 3.5 86.4 6.7 99.4 27.6 8.9 55.1 19.3 F2 17.4 0.0 8.6 19.0 45.6 83.2 19.9 4.5 49.2 97.3 F3 3.5 8.6 0.0 33.7 83.6 88.6 42.6 19.6 38.2 89.0 F4 86.4 19.0 33.7 0.0 36.1 33.6 83.9 36.2 48.1 55.8 F5 6.7 45.6 83.6 36.1 0.0 38.0 36.9 89.3 83.4 28.9 F6 99.4 83.2 88.6 33.6 38.0 0.0 38.4 11.7 18.4 22.0 F7 27.6 19.9 42.6 83.9 36.9 38.4 0.0 22.6 63.3 35.7 F8 8.9 4.5 19.6 36.2 89.3 11.7 22.6 0.0 8.1 15.3 F9 55.1 49.2 38.2 48.1 83.4 18.4 63.3 8.1 0.0 60.2 F10 19.3 97.3 89.0 55.8 28.9 22.0 35.7 15.3 60.2 0.0

The distances in each row are then sorted such that an ordered list of distances, relative to each file, is obtained. The file identity relation associated with each distance is preserved during the sort. The resulting matrix now looks like this:

Sorted Distance Matrix 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 F1 F1(0.0) F3(3.5) F5(6.7) F8(8.9) F2(17.4) F10(19.3) F7(27.6) F9(55.1) F4(86.4) F6(99.4) F2 F2(0.0) F8(4.5) F3(8.6) F1(17.4) F4(19.0) F7(19.9) F5(45.6) F9(49.2) F6(83.2) F10(97.3) F3 F3(0.0) F1(3.5) F2(8.6) F8(19.6) F4(33.7) F9(38.2) F7(42.6) F5(83.6) F6(88.6) F10(89.0) F4 F4(0.0) F2(19.0) F6(33.6) F3(33.7) F5(36.1) F8(36.2) F9(48.1) F10(55.8) F1(86.4) F7(83.9) F5 F5(0.0) F1(6.7) F10(28.9) F4(36.1 F7(36.9) F6(38.0) F2(45.6) F9(83.4) F3(83.6) F8(89.3) F6 F6(0.0) F8(11.7) F9(18.4) F10(22.0) F4(33.6) F5(38.0) F7(38.4 F2(83.2) F3(88.6 F1(99.4) F7 F7(0.0) F2(19.9) F8(22.6) F1(27.6) F5(36.9) F10(35.7) F6(38.4) F3(43.6) F9(63.3 F4(83.9) F8 F8(0.0) F2(4.5) F9(8.1) F1(8.9) F6(11.7) F10(15.3 F3(19.6 F7(22.6) F4(36.2) F5(89.3) F9 F9(0.0 F8(8.1) F6(18.4) F3(38.2) F4(48.1) F2(49.2) F1(55.1) F10(60.2) F7(63.3) F5(83.4) F10 F10(0.0 F8(15.3 F1(19.3) F6(22.0) F5(28.9) F7(35.7) F4(55.8) F9(60.2) F3(89.0) F2(97.3)

Using the information in columns 1 and 2 a relationship graph can be created of closest neighbor files. From the above matrix, skilled artisans will note the following:

F1's nearest neighbor is F3. Create a group, G1, assign these two files to that group.

F2's nearest neighbor is F8. Create a group, G2, assign these two files to that group.

F3 has already been assigned, its nearest neighbor is F1, and they belong to group G1.

F4's nearest neighbor is F2, which already belongs to G2. Assign F4 to G2 as well.

F5's nearest neighbor is F1, which already belongs to G1. Assign F5 to G1 as well.

F6's nearest neighbor is F8, which already belongs to G2. Assign F6 to G2 as well.

F7's nearest neighbor is F2, which already belongs to G2. Assign F7 to G2 also.

F8's has already been assigned, It's nearest neighbor is F2, and they belong to G2.

F9's nearest neighbor is F8, which already belongs to G2. Assign F9 to G2 also.

F10's nearest neighbor is F8, which already belongs to G2. Assign F10 to G2 also.

The above “nearest neighbor” logic leads to the conclusion that two groups (G1 and G2) of files exist. Group G1 contains F1, F3, F5, while Group G2 contains F2, F4, F6, F7, F8, F9, and F10.

An algorithm for determining groups based on adjacent neighbors is given in FIG. 98A. For each file in the scope of analysis 900, a closest neighbor is determined, 910. From the example, this includes using the distance values that have been sorted in columns 1 and 2. If a closest neighbor already belongs to a group at 920, the file joins that group at 930. Else, if the closest neighbor belongs to no group at 940, a new group is created at 950 and both files are added to the new group at 960. From the example, F1's nearest neighbor is F3 and no groups exist at 940. Thus, a new group G1 is created at 950 and both F1 and F3 are assigned, or added. Similarly, F2's nearest neighbor is F8, but only group G1 exists. Thus, a new group G2 is created at 950 for files F2 and F8 at 960. Later, it is learned that F4's nearest neighbor is F2, which already belongs to G2 at step 920. Thus, at 930 file F4 joins group G2. Once all files have been analyzed, the groups are finalized and group processing ceases at 970.

With reference to FIG. 98B, a graph of the relationships can be made, although doing so in 2D space is often difficult. In groups G1 and G2 above, a representation of a 2-D graph that meets the neighbor criteria might look like reference numeral 980. Using this grouping method and procedure, it can be deduced that a group of files are pattern-related and are more closely similar to each other, than to files which find membership in another group. Thus, files F1, F3 and F5 are more closely similar than those in group G2.

Statistics Used when Computing Informational Distance Values

A discussion of the various statistics that might be employed to determine informational distance is now entertained. As an example file, the text of the Gettysburg Address (below) is used as a reference file F1. For the following example, the words found in the address are used as symbols. It should be noted that the symbol discovery process outlined previously in this document would not result in textual words being assigned as symbols, rather fragments of bit strings. But for ease of textual presentation, we shall use words as the example symbols.

The Gettysburg Address, File1:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate . . . we can not consecrate . . . we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

A second file, F2, which is exactly two copies of the Gettysburg address, concatenated together (not shown), is also analyzed for a digital spectrum. With the results as follows:

Digital Spectra for F1 and F2.

F1 Freq. F2 Freq. Length Symbol 1 2 5 above 1 2 3 add 1 2 8 advanced 1 2 3 ago 1 2 3 all 1 2 10 altogether 1 2 3 any 1 2 2 as 1 2 12 Battle-field 1 2 6 before 1 2 5 birth 1 2 5 brave 1 2 7 brought 1 2 3 but 1 2 3 But 1 2 2 by 1 2 5 cause 1 2 5 civil 1 2 4 come 1 2 10 consecrate 1 2 11 consecrated 1 2 9 continent 1 2 7 created 1 2 7 detract 1 2 8 devotion 1 2 13 Devotion-that 1 2 3 did 1 2 5 died 1 2 2 do 1 2 5 earth 1 2 6 endure 1 2 7 engaged 1 2 5 equal 1 2 7 fathers 1 2 5 field 1 2 5 final 1 2 7 fitting 1 2 6 forget 1 2 5 forth 1 2 6 fought 1 2 4 Four 1 2 11 Freedom-and 1 2 5 their 1 2 5 those 1 2 4 thus 1 2 5 under 1 2 10 unfinished 1 2 7 us-that 1 2 9 vain-that 1 2 7 whether 1 2 5 will 1 2 4 work 1 2 5 world 2 4 2 be 2 4 9 conceived 2 4 8 dedicate 2 4 3 far 2 4 4 from 2 4 4 gave 2 4 2 it 2 4 6 living 2 4 4 long 2 4 3 men 2 4 3 new 2 4 2 on 2 4 2 or 2 4 3 our 2 4 6 rather 2 4 3 The 2 4 5 these 2 4 2 us 2 4 3 war 2 4 2 We 2 4 4 what 1 2 4 full 1 2 3 God 1 2 11 government: 1 2 6 ground 1 2 6 hallow 1 2 6 highly 1 2 7 honored 1 2 9 Increased 1 2 6 larger 1 2 4 last 1 2 7 Liberty 1 2 6 little 1 2 4 live 1 2 5 lives 1 2 7 Measure 1 2 3 met 1 2 5 might 1 2 5 never 1 2 5 nobly 1 2 3 nor 1 2 4 note 1 2 3 Now 1 2 6 perish 1 2 5 place 1 2 4 poor 1 2 7 portion 1 2 5 power 1 2 6 proper 1 2 11 proposition 1 2 9 remaining 1 2 8 remember 1 2 7 resolve 1 2 7 resting 1 2 3 say 1 2 5 score 1 2 5 sense 1 2 5 seven 1 2 6 should 1 2 9 struggled 1 2 5 take 1 2 4 task 1 2 7 testing 2 4 5 which 3 6 3 are 3 6 4 dead 3 6 5 great 3 6 2 is 3 6 2 It 3 6 6 people 3 6 5 shall 3 6 2 so 3 6 4 they 3 6 3 who 4 8 9 dedicated 4 8 2 in 4 8 4 this 5 10 3 and 5 10 3 can 5 10 3 for 5 10 4 have 5 10 6 nation 5 10 3 not 5 10 2 of 7 14 1 a 8 16 4 here 8 16 2 to 8 16 2 we 9 18 3 the 10 20 4 that 16 32 1 “.” 22 44 1 “,” 262 525 1 Space 566 1133 Total Symbols

The first statistic mentioned above for use in file comparisons is the pure symbol frequency, S1 or FREQ. S1 is used when the number of times a symbol appears in a file is deemed important. If the frequency of symbol occurrence in the reference file (F1) is compared to frequency of symbol occurrence in a target file (F2), a positional difference will be noted when the symbol frequencies differ. If F1 and F2 are both a single copy of the Gettysburg Address, the positional difference will be zero, as expected. If F2 contains exactly two concatenated copies of the Gettysburg address (separated by a single space), the positional difference will be substantial, even though the informational content of two copies of the Gettysburg address is little different than one copy.

The second statistic, the normalized symbol frequency, S2 or NORM FREQ, provides a tool to evaluate the ratio of occurrence of the symbols. The use of strict symbol counts tends to over exaggerate the distance between two files that are different sizes, but contain substantially the same information. Instead of using the simple frequency of occurrence of each symbol, the frequency is divided by the sum of occurrences of all symbols within that file to provide a normalized statistic. Each value in the information vector is the fraction of all symbol occurrences that are represented by this symbol in that file. Using the above example of F1 and F2, the normalized frequency for each symbol in the two files is nearly equal. Subsequent distance calculations using this normalized statistic will show the two files occupying very nearly the same position in N-space, and therefore highly similar as seen in the next table.

F1 F2 F1 Freq/ F2 Freq/ Freq Freq SUM SUM Symbol 1 2 1/566 = 0.0017 2/1133 = 0.0017 above 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 add 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 advanced 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 ago 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 all 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 altogether 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 any 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 as 1 2 0.0017 01.0017 Battle-field 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 before 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 birth 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 brave 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 brought 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 but 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 But 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 by 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 cause 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 civil 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 come 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 consecrate 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 consecrated 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 continent 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 created 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 detract 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 devotion 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 Devotion-that 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 did 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 died 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 do 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 earth 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 endure 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 engaged 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 equal 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 fathers 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 field 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 final 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 fitting 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 forget 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 forth 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 fought 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 Four 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 Freedom-and 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 full 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 God 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 government: 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 ground 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 hallow 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 highly 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 honored 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 Increased 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 larger 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 last 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 men 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 new 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 on 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 or 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 our 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 rather 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 The 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 these 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 us 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 war 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 We 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 what 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 which 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 are 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 dead 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 great 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 is 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 It 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 people 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 shall 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 so 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 Liberty 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 little 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 live 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 lives 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 Measure 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 met 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 might 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 never 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 nobly 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 nor 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 note 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 Now 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 perish 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 place 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 poor 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 portion 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 power 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 proper 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 proposition 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 remaining 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 remember 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 resolve 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 resting 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 say 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 score 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 sense 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 seven 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 should 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 struggled 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 take 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 task 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 testing 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 their 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 those 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 thus 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 under 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 unfinished 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 us-that 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 vain-that 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 whether 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 will 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 work 1 2 0.0017 0.0017 world 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 be 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 conceived 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 dedicate 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 far 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 from 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 gave 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 it 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 living 2 4 0.0035 0.0035 Long 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 they 3 6 0.0053 0.0053 who 4 8 0.0071 0.0071 dedicated 4 8 0.0071 0.0071 in 4 8 0.0071 0.0071 this 5 10 0.0088 0.0088 and 5 10 0.0088 0.0088 can 5 10 0.0088 0.0088 for 5 10 0.0088 0.0088 have 5 10 0.0088 0.0088 nation 5 10 0.0088 0.0088 not 5 10 0.0088 0.0088 of 7 14 0.0124 0.0124 a 8 16 0.0141 0.0141 here 8 16 0.0141 0.0141 to 8 16 0.0141 0.0141 we 9 18 0.0159 0.0159 the 10 20 0.0177 0.0177 that 16 32 0.0282 0.0282 “.” 22 44 0.0388 0.0388 “,” 262 525 0.4629 0.4629 Space 566 1133 Sum of Symbols

The third statistic, the informational content represented by a symbol, S3 or INFO, is calculated as the symbol frequency multiplied by the length of the information represented by that symbol. It might be surmised that if symbol A represents 10 bits of original information while symbol B represents original information that is 500 bits, symbol B might be appropriately weighted more when comparing the files. However, if symbol A is used 1000 times, and symbol B is used 5 times, symbol A accounts for 10,000 bits in the file (1000×10=10,000) while symbol B accounts for 2500 bits (5×500=2500). Hence, a greater informational content is represented by symbol A than symbol B.

In the fourth statistic, the normalized informational content represented by a symbol, S4 or NORM INFO, is calculated as statistic three divided by the total length of the file in bits (characters in this example). This generates a statistic that specifies what fraction of the total file informational content is represented by a given symbol. F1 size (size of F1 in characters) is 1455; F2 size is 2911 (with 1 space between files). A sampling of the statistics has been calculated in the table below.

F1 Freq* (F2Freq* F1 F2 Sym SymLen)/ SymLen)/ Freq Freq Len F1 Size F2 Size Symbol 1 2 5 1 × 5/1455 = 2 × 5/2911 = above 0.0034 0.0034 1 2 3 1 × 3/1455 = 2 × 3/2911 = add 0.0021 0.0021 1 2 8 advanced 1 2 3 all 1 2 10 altogether 1 2 3 any 1 2 2 as 1 2 12 Battle-field 1 2 6 before 1 2 5 birth 1 2 5 brave 1 2 7 brought 1 2 3 but 1 2 3 But 1 2 2 by 1 2 5 cause 1 2 5 civil 1 2 4 come 1 2 10 consecrate 1 2 11 consecrated 1 2 9 continent 1 2 7 created 1 2 7 detract 1 2 8 devotion 1 2 13 devotion-that 1 2 3 did 1 2 5 died 1 2 2 do 1 2 5 earth 1 2 6 endure 1 2 7 engaged 1 2 5 equal 1 2 7 fathers 1 2 5 field 1 2 5 final 1 2 7 fitting 1 2 6 forget 1 2 5 forth 1 2 5 score 1 2 5 sense 1 2 5 seven 1 2 6 should 1 2 9 struggled 1 2 5 take 1 2 4 task 1 2 7 testing 1 2 5 their 1 2 5 those 1 2 4 thus 1 2 5 under 1 2 10 unfinished 1 2 7 us-that 1 2 9 vain-that 1 2 7 whether 1 2 5 will 1 2 4 work 1 2 5 world 2 4 2 2 × 2/1455 = 4 × 2/2911 = be 0.0027 0.0027 2 4 9 conceived 2 4 8 dedicate 2 4 3 far 2 4 4 from 2 4 4 gave 2 4 2 it 2 4 6 living 2 4 4 long 2 4 3 men 2 4 3 new 2 4 2 on 2 4 2 or 2 4 3 our 2 4 6 rather 2 4 3 The 2 4 5 these 1 2 6 fought 1 2 4 Four 1 2 11 freedom-and 1 2 4 full 1 2 3 God 1 2 11 government: 1 2 6 ground 1 2 6 hallow 1 2 6 highly 1 2 7 honored 1 2 9 Increased 1 2 6 larger 1 2 4 last 1 2 7 Liberty 1 2 6 little 1 2 4 live 1 2 5 lives 1 2 7 Measure 1 2 3 met 1 2 5 might 1 2 5 never 1 2 5 nobly 1 2 3 nor 1 2 4 note 1 2 3 Now 1 2 6 perish 1 2 5 place 1 2 4 poor 1 2 7 portion 1 2 5 power 1 2 6 proper 1 2 11 proposition 1 2 9 remaining 1 2 3 met 1 2 8 remember 1 2 7 resolve 1 2 7 resting 1 2 3 say 2 4 2 us 2 4 3 war 2 4 2 We 2 4 4 what 2 4 5 which 3 6 3 are 3 6 4 dead 3 6 5 great 3 6 2 is 3 6 2 It 3 6 6 people 3 6 5 shall 3 6 2 so 3 6 4 they 3 6 3 who 4 8 9 dedicated 4 8 2 in 4 8 4 this 5 10 3 and 5 10 3 can 5 10 3 for 5 10 4 have 5 10 6 nation 5 10 3 not 5 10 2 of 7 14 1 a 8 16 4 8 × 4/1455 = 16 × 4/2911 = here 0.0220 0.0220 8 16 2 to 8 16 2 we 9 18 3 the 10 20 4 that 16 32 1 “.” 22 44 1 “,” 262 525 1 262 × 1/1455 = 525 × 1/2911 = Space 0.1801 0.1804 566 1133 Total Symbols

Experimental research thus far has shown that the S2 and S4 statistics usually do a better job at defining recognizable groups of files. Of course, other types of statistical comparisons are contemplated using the above mentioned comparison and grouping techniques.

In another alternate embodiment, the following describes technology to identify a subset of symbols within a composite key (e.g., key 200, FIG. 84) according to how effectively each symbol characterizes a group of files of interest. Subsequently, the subset of symbols characteristic of the group of files of interest can be used as a filter to identify which, if any, additional file(s) from a general population of files stored on one or more computing devices contain similar patterns of information as the group of files of interest. As will be described in detail below, the additional file(s) is identified by measuring a distance in standard deviations from the group of files of interest's N-dimensional center to a digital equivalence vector of the additional file(s). The smaller the distance, the more probable it is that a file belongs to the same group of files. The greater the distance, the less probable it is that a file belongs to the same group of files.

Preparing the Group of Interest

Prior to identifying the subset of symbols from a group of symbols which most effectively characterize the group of files of interest, the group of files of interest, i.e., the group that best represents the information one is trying to find in a general population or plurality of files, must be identified. Two possible methods of identifying the group of files are provided herein including using information found in the digital spectra of the group (as described above) and a subjective choice method. Of course, other methods of identifying the group of files are also possible and will be understood by the skilled artisan.

Using the Digital Spectra to Select the Group of Files of Interest

As described in detail above, files can be identified by a set of values that digitally identifies the file or its digital spectrum. This digital spectrum is used to define a file's position in an N-dimensional universe and provides a basis by which a file's position determines similarity, adjacency, differentiation and grouping relative to other files. Using information in the digital spectra of a group of files, analysis can be done to determine similarity, or not, of additional files.

Information from the digital spectrum may be used to create an information statistic for a file which may be used to group files. As described above, these statistics can include frequency of occurrence, normalized frequency of occurrence of each possible symbol, information content of occurrence of each symbol, and normalized information content of occurrence of each symbol. Using any of these grouping techniques, groups of common files can be identified from a plurality of files in the general population of files. In the embodiment described herein, the normalized informational content approach is utilized to identify groups of common files.

With reference to FIG. 99, a flowchart 400 indicates the steps involved in using digital spectra to select the group of files of interest from the plurality of files in the general population of files. Using the procedure(s) in FIGS. 2-82 b, each file in the plurality of files 402 can be compressed. Such compression procedures result in a compressed file as summarized in diagram 69, FIG. 69. Each compressed file contains certain information including the file type, symbol width, Huffman tree, dictionary, encoded data, and EOF symbol which make up its key information 200 as shown in FIG. 84. As a result, individual key information is generated for each file in the plurality of files at step 404 and composite key information, or a composite key, which is large in size is likewise generated from the individual key information at step 406. At step 408, digital equivalence vectors are generated for each file based on the composite key.

In order to utilize this approach, a matrix is set up at step 410. As described in detail above, the matrix may be created with the symbol frequency as the statistic chosen to represent each file. At step 412, the grouping algorithms described above are applied to the matrix (e.g., based on adjacent neighbors as shown in FIG. 98A) in order to group the plurality of files into a plurality of common groups of files. In the example set out above, the “nearest neighbor” logic leads to the conclusion that two groups (G1 and G2) of common files exist. Group G1 contains F1, F3, and F5, while Group G2 contains F2, F4, F6, F7, F8, F9, and F10.

From the common groups of files, a group of files of interest is selected at step 414 which best represents the information that is sought. The selection of the group of files from the common groups of files may be done manually to insure the desired results. The selected group of files may also be adjusted by removing certain outlying files or adding certain files in order to refine the group of files. Preferably, the group of files would contain between five and fifty files in order to focus the informational content. Placing more than fifty files in the group of files demonstrates little additional worth in terms of fine-tuning the resultant characteristic digital equivalence vector for the group of files.

The selected group of files derived from the compression methods described above is then used as the group of files of interest in identifying the subset of symbols from the group of symbols which most effectively characterize the group of files. Likewise, the composite key and digital equivalence vectors for each of the selected files in the group of interest are used in the subsequent analysis as described below.

With reference to FIG. 100, a flowchart 416 illustrates the steps involved in setting up a new matrix 420 of P (Patterns/Symbols in Composite Key) by G (Files in the Group of Files of Interest) that contains information about symbols for the files in the group of files of interest. After the group of files is selected, the new matrix 420 is created from the earlier matrix established in step 410. Specifically, the digital equivalence vectors for the files which make up the group of files are extracted in step 418 for use in the new matrix 420. In step 422, the informational weight of each symbol for each file in the group of files is calculated. Each column 424 (P1, P2, P3, . . . PN, where N is the number of patterns in the composite key) represents how much weight each pattern or symbol contributes to a total informational content of the files in the group of files of interest.

The weight, designated Xpg, in each cell in the P×G matrix 420 is the fraction of informational content that the symbol represents across all of the files in the group of files of interest and is represented by the following formula:

Xpg=Frequency*BitLength/TotalBits

Each row 426 (F1, F2, . . . FG, where G is the number of sample files being used to determine a filter) represents data associated with a given file from the group of files. The full set of symbols is represented in the columns of the matrix 420 set up in step 428. For the purposes of the example shown below to demonstrate the invention, ninety-six files were used to create the composite key that represented the plurality of files from which the group of files was selected. The resulting composite key has a group of 57,531 symbols. Six files were chosen from the plurality of files as the group of files of interest.

Using a Subjective Method to Select Files of Interest

Subjectively selecting the files as illustrated in FIG. 102 is one alternate method of identifying files from the plurality of files for the group of files of interest. In this embodiment, a knowledgeable expert or skilled artisan preferably selects between five and fifty files from the plurality of files that are determined to best represent the information of interest for the group of files of interest. The selection criteria may vary widely and depends in part on the goals of the search to be performed and the general population of files to be searched.

After the files are selected for the group of files of interest using the subjective method in step 430, the following steps are performed to find the digital equivalence vector for each file of the group of files of interest, and the composite key that is used later to determine the characteristic digital equivalence vector for the group:

Generate keys for each file of the group of files of interest in step 432;

Generate a composite key for the group of files in step 434;

Generate digital equivalence vectors for each file based on the composite key in step 436;

Calculate the informational weight of each of the plurality of symbols in each of the files in step 438; and

Create a P×G matrix for the group of files of interest in step 440.

As in the process described above wherein the digital spectra is used to select the group of files of interest, the resulting P×G matrix is the same as the one shown in FIG. 101.

Analyzing the Symbols

To analyze the resulting group of symbols, the P×G matrix 420 that contains data about the informational content that each symbol represents in the files in the group of files of interest is utilized. As above, the statistic chosen for this example is the amount of information represented by a symbol. For each symbol column 424 in the P×G matrix shown in FIG. 101, a total information value for the symbol is calculated. For symbol P1, for example, the weights in the symbol (P1) column 442 are summed as shown by the following formula:

Sum(X1)=X1₁ +X1₂ +X1₃ +X1₄ +X1₅ +X1₆ + . . . X1_(G)

As illustrated in FIG. 103, the summed values are then ranked or ordered by the fraction of information represented by each symbol from the highest value 446 to the lowest value 448. The output of this analysis is shown for the present example in Table 1 shown below. The shaded column, “Amount of Information,” lists the informational values for each symbol ordered from the symbol that represents the highest fraction of information across all files in the group of files to the symbol with the lowest fraction of information across all files in the group of files. The cumulative information content represented is calculated and shown in the “Cumulative Amount of Information” column.

As is indicated in the Table 1 header and noted above, six files were selected to form the group of files of interest. Within these six files, compression of the underlying data stream of information resulted in 57,531 symbols. Using the above-noted formula (also shown in the Table 1 header), the amount of information across all files associated with each symbol is shown and ordered from highest to lowest. Symbol 62, for example, accounts for 0.005892 of the 1.00 total amount of information contained in the six files.

TABLE 1 “Info” Cumulative Symbol Bit Amount of Amount of Count ID Length Frequency Information Information 1 62 4096 136 0.005892 0.005892 2 9344 1492 31 0.003645 0.009537 3 2489 1616 114 0.001948 0.011486 4 15391 1782 100 0.001885 0.013370 5 60 1024 111 0.001202 0.014572 6 3188 1045 98 0.001083 0.015656 7 15390 1326 72 0.001010 0.016665 8 11439 280 339 0.001004 0.017669 9 61 2048 43 0.000931 0.018601 10 474 390 163 0.000672 0.019273 11 2321 1960 31 0.000643 0.019916 12 8388 292 198 0.000611 0.020527 . . . 372 47609 12 1418 0.000180 0.099964 373 19862 12 1418 0.000180 0.100144 . . . 1033 39182 12 969 0.000123 0.199950 1034 5439 12 969 0.000123 0.200073 . . . 2910 41597 13 716 0.000098 0.399974 1929 25660 13 768 0.000106 0.300051 . . . 2910 41597 13 716 0.000098 0.399974 2911 40697 13 716 0.000098 0.400072 . . . 3963 56558 13 663 0.000091 0.499917 3964 43045 13 663 0.000091 0.500008 . . . 5131 22445 13 574 0.000079 0.599970 5132 13286 13 574 0.000079 0.600049 . . . 6603 40661 14 400 0.000059 0.699976 6604 39059 14 400 0.000059 0.700035 . . . 8457 13916 14 329 0.000049 0.799982 8458 9072 14 329 0.000049 0.800030 . . . 11124 28718 13 193 0.000027 0.899998 11125 5479 13 193 0.000027 0.900024 . . . 12222 40707 16 114 0.000019 0.924989 12223 40327 16 114 0.000019 0.925008 . . . 13694 43127 15 95 0.000015 0.949988 13695 41551 15 95 0.000015 0.950003 . . . 15649 989 39 24 0.000010 0.974992 15650 33668 18 52 0.000010 0.975002 . . . 16197 30757 18 44 0.000008 0.979994 16198 21338 18 44 0.000008 0.980002 . . . 17713 24658 24 19 0.000005 0.989998 17714 24088 24 19 0.000005 0.990003 . . . 19182 21195 20 11 0.000002 0.994998 19183 21103 20 11 0.000002 0.995001 . . . 22533 36044 48 1 0.000001 0.999000 . . . 25075 9039 24 1 0.000000 0.999900 . . . 25452 26032 21 1 0.000000 0.999990 . . . 25490 6226 21 1 0.000000 0.999999 . . . 25494 3979 21 1 0.000000 1.000000 . . . 57528 15676 2 0 0.000000 1.000005 57529 2 2 0 0.000000 1.000005 57530 1 1 0 0.000000 1.000005 57531 0 1 0 0.000000 1.000005 Files = 6, Symbols = 57531, Mean DEV of Group Ranked by the Fraction of Information from Highest to Lowest (Bit Length × Frequency)/(Total Bits) = Amount of Information Break point is the patterns representing up to 90% of the information.

As is also apparent from Table 1, about 80% of the total information in the group of files is represented by the first 8,457 symbols in the rank-ordered listing of symbols, and about 90% of the total information is represented by the first 11,124 symbols. Even more, about 99% of the total information is represented in the first 17,713 symbols of the 57,531 total symbols identified for the group of files.

Through inspection of the list set forth in Table 1, it can be determined that only a portion of the ordered symbols represent a significant portion of the total amount of information contained within the group of files. For the purposes of further analysis, only this portion of the ordered symbols will be utilized. Of course, the precise cutoff point for these decisions may vary depending on the files selected for inclusion in the group of files of interest and content therein but a reasonable cutoff point may occur anywhere between substantially 80%-99% of the total amount of information. In this embodiment, the cutoff point was selected to be 90% of the total amount of information which was represented by the first 11,124 symbols in the ordered list. All symbols ranked from row 1 through row 11,124 are therefore used in the subsequent analysis.

Calculating the Variance for Symbols

Once the subset of symbols from the group of symbols is selected from the ordered symbols based on the summed amount of information, a variance for each symbol in the subset of symbols is calculated. A variance represents a measure of the degree of spread among a set of values or a measure of the tendency of individual values to vary from a mean value. It is determined by taking the square of the standard deviation which itself is a statistical measure of the spread or variability. The standard deviation is the root mean square deviation of the values from their arithmetic mean.

In the present example, the variance is calculated using only the 11,124 symbols that represent 90% of the information content of the group of files of interest. Grouping in terms of similarities from one file to another has been experimentally shown to be tighter if the symbol values in a given column are similar, i.e., the values are closely distributed along an N-space axis represented by that symbol. The dispersion of the values along the N-space axis takes into consideration each value's absolute deviation from the mean value. The relationship between symbol values 450, their mean value 452, and their variance from the mean value is illustrated in FIG. 104. Columns with the most similar values contribute to the tightening of a group (shown generally by arrows designated numeral 456) because they have lower in-symbol variance. Columns with the most disparate values contribute to the spreading, loosening, or inflation of a group (shown generally by arrows designed numeral 458), because they have higher in-symbol variance.

In order to determine which of the remaining 11,124 symbols contribute most to the tightness of the group of files of interest, the variance is calculated for each of the symbols (PN) within the group of symbols. To do so, the matrix 460 shown in FIG. 105 is utilized. For each symbol column 462 in the matrix 460, the total information value for the symbol is calculated. For symbol P1, for example, the weights in the symbol column 462 are summed as described above and shown in row 464. Subsequently, a mean and standard deviation from the mean for each symbol column 462 are determined and a variance for each pattern calculated. The mean is shown in row 466, the standard deviation from the mean is shown in row 468, and the calculated variance for each symbol is shown in row 470. The column with the smallest standard deviation, i.e., lowest variance, represents the symbol that most contributes to grouping within the group of symbols. The column with the largest standard deviation, i.e., highest variance, represents the symbol that contributes least to grouping within the group of symbols. The lower the variance of the values in a column, the more that symbol contributes to the tightness of the group, as mentioned above. The symbol with low variance indicates that the files have information in common.

After the variances are calculated, the symbols in the group of symbols are again ranked or ordered by their respective variance values. In the present embodiment, the values are ranked from the lowest variance 472 to the highest variance 474 as generally illustrated in FIG. 106. The output of this analysis is shown for the present example in Table 2 below. As is indicated in the Table 2 header, 11,124 symbols form the group of symbols for which the variance was calculated. These symbols represent 90% of the information contained in the six files selected to form the group of files of interest. Using the above-noted formula, the variance for each of the symbols across all files is shown and listed from lowest to highest. Symbol 16199, for example, accounts for a relatively small amount (e.g., 2.783772 e⁻⁵) of the total amount of information contained in the six files but has the lowest variance of 1.383449 e⁻⁶.

TABLE 2 “VARIANCE(SD)” Symbol Bit Amount of Count ID Length Frequency Information Variance 1 16199 14 188 2.783772e−05 1.383449e−06 2 56910 13 233 3.203665e−05 1.487666e−06 3 29412 15 202 3.204722e−05 1.834311e−06 4 26696 13 267 3.671152e−05 1.934958e−06 5 14344 12 458 5.812922e−05 2.047667e−06 6 28954 15 212 3.363372e−05 2.177048e−06 7 52963 13 198 2.722428e−05 2.341854e−06 8 3946 15 205 3.252317e−05 2.369275e−06 9 29762 15 205 3.252317e−05 2.372775e−06 10 24905 15 170 2.697044e−05 2.462106e−06 11 40468 13 426 5.857344e−05 2.601232e−06 12 23838 13 504 6.929816e−05 2.764278e−06 13 27136 15 201 3.188858e−05 2.794272e−06 . . . 1110 30346 13 270 3.712401e−05 8.796953e−06 1111 38511 14 281 4.160851e−05 8.799559e−06 1112 15339 15 251 3.982106e−05 8.800382e−06 1113 29233 14 344 5.093711e−05 8.802278e−06 . . . 1575 54266 14 358 5.301013e−05 9.992190e−06 1576 39079 14 331 4.901216e−05 9.996260e−06 1577 12081 12 425 5.394087e−05 1.000114e−05 1578 55203 12 350 4.442190e−05 1.000555e−05 1579 40689 14 435 6.441175e−05 1.000711e−05 . . . 10742 32327 23 136 3.308374e−05 9.988470e−05 10743 24616 36 85 3.236453e−05 9.988926e−05 10744 377 72 65 4.949869e−05 1.000899e−04 10745 6455 24 442 1.121970e−04 1.001216e−04 10746 20982 19 190 3.818168e−05 1.004049e−04 10747 39371 20 158 3.342219e−05 1.005017e−04 . . . 11100 11439 280 339 1.003935e−03 9.769461e−04 11101 56 512 88 4.765412e−04 9.848278e−04 11102 6890 283 93 2.783666e−04 9.974395e−04 11103 30234 315 137 4.564350e−04 1.001368e−03 11104 57 768 75 6.092146e−04 1.070559e−03 11105 8893 408 71 3.063842e−04 1.096028e−03 11106 33596 64 630 4.264502e−04 1.139874e−03 11107 41565 820 12 1.040742e−04 1.168954e−03 11108 781 728 32 2.463934e−04 1.186926e−03 11109 197 596 25 1.575920e−04 1.189505e−03 11110 10418 595 31 1.950862e−04 1.220824e−03 11111 30727 686 18 1.306004e−04 1.255842e−03 11112 14535 417 89 3.925309e−04 1.256150e−03 . . . 11122 9344 1492 231 3.645261e−03 3.773382e−03 11123 2489 1616 114 1.948471e−03 5.155842e−03 11124 62 4096 136 5.891782e−03 1.107103e−02 Selected Symbols = 90 percent info value of 57531 = 11124 Ranked by the In-Pattern Variance of Values from Lowest to Highest Break point is first 10% of patterns with the lowest in-pattern variance.

Through inspection of the ordered list set forth in Table 2, it can be determined that only a portion of the ordered symbols have a low variance relative to the remaining symbols within the group of symbols. For the purposes of further analysis, only this identified subset of the group of symbols will be utilized. Of course, the precise cutoff point for these decisions may vary depending on the files selected for inclusion in the group of files of interest and content therein but a reasonable cutoff point may occur on or around substantially 10% of the symbols in the group of symbols. In this example, the cutoff point was selected to be 10% which was represented by the first 1,112 symbols in the ordered list. All symbols ranked from row 1 through row 1,112 therefore represent the subset of symbols from the group of symbols which most effectively characterize a group of files of interest. Of course, the user can choose more, or fewer, symbols to fine tune the subset of symbols.

The identified subset of symbols can subsequently be utilized to identify at least one additional file of the plurality of files which is properly grouped with the group of files of interest. In other words, the subset of symbols can be utilized to filter the plurality of files in the general population of files to determine like or related files.

Determine the Characteristic Digital Equivalence Vector for the Group of Files of Interest

Using the digital equivalence vectors of each file in the group of files of interest, a characteristic digital equivalence vector for the group of files can be determined. The characteristic digital equivalence vector is subsequently used as the filter for finding like or related files from the plurality of files in the general population of files.

Plot digital equivalence vectors in N-dimensional space using only the identified subset of symbols.

Calculate a mean value of each symbol in the identified subset of symbols. This value is the characteristic digital equivalence vector for the group.

Plot the mean digital equivalence vector in N-dimensional space.

Using only the symbols in the subset of symbols, calculate absolute distances between each digital equivalence vector endpoint and the endpoint of the mean digital equivalence vector as illustrated in FIG. 107.

Calculate a standard deviation for these distances from the mean.

As illustrated in FIG. 108, the resulting group filter 482 includes the original composite key 484, the characteristic digital equivalence vector 486, and the standard deviation value 488.

Using the Characteristic Digital Equivalence Vector as a Filter

With reference to FIG. 108, a flowchart 490 indicates the steps involved in using the resulting characteristic digital equivalence vector of the group of files of interest can be used to filter the plurality of files whose characteristics are unknown in the general population of files 492 to determine like or related files. In step 494, the original composite key 484 is used to calculate a digital equivalence vector for a file 496 selected for filtering. This necessarily includes all symbols in the original composite key. In step 498, the symbols in the subset of symbols identified above are extracted from the calculated digital equivalence vector of the selected file 496. Next, in step 500, the digital equivalence vector for the selected file 496 is plotted in N-space for the symbols in the identified subset of symbols. An absolute distance between the digital equivalence vector of the selected file 496 and the characteristic digital equivalence vector 486 is calculated at step 502. In step 504, the absolute distance between endpoints of the digital equivalence vector of the selected file 496 and the characteristic digital equivalence vector 486 is compared to the standard deviation value of the filter 488. If the selected file 496 falls within two standard deviations of the end point of the characteristic digital equivalence vector 486 as determined in step 506, the selected file is considered to be a like or related file and may be added as a member of the group of files of interest 508.

In other words, files that fall within zero to two standard deviations from the center are likely to belong to the group of files of interest. As the distance from the mean increases beyond 2 standard deviations, it becomes less likely that the selected file 496 belongs to the group of files. As shown in FIG. 110, the standard deviations are measured in all directions from the end point of the characteristic digital equivalence vector plotted in N-dimensional space. The standard deviations form concentric N-spheres 510 surrounding the mean end point 512, where each sphere is 1, 2, 3 and so on standard deviations from the end point. This is illustrated in FIG. 110 in two-dimensional space for ease of understanding.

Tuning the Filter

As noted above, the group filter 482 established using the above methods can be utilized to identify at least one additional file of the plurality of files stored on the one or more computing devices within a general population of files. In addition to the above methods, however, the established filter can be further narrowed or tuned in a variety of ways in order to further improve the search outcome. The need for further tuning can be determined by evaluating the search results to determine how well the resulting files located by the search satisfy the intended search.

If required, one or more of the following means of tuning the filter 482 may be utilized. In one approach, the files used to create the filter can be chosen again. Perhaps better example files or more example files, or even fewer example files that more cohesively target the group of files of interest may be chosen. Alternately, or in addition, the percentage cutoff of information represented by the selected symbols may be increased or decreased as desired. For example, is 90% necessary for success, or can the desired results be found by choosing a lower requirement for information content at 80%, 70%, and so on or even a higher percent. Similarly, the cutoff used for variance may be increased or decreased in order to fine tune the resulting group filter 482. This affects the number of symbols included in the filter, and thereby, the amount of informational content (bits) that is used in the filter.

Even more, the membership criteria relating to the closeness to the characteristic digital equivalence vector may be tightened or loosened by changing the acceptable standard deviation distance from the geographic mean that the selected file 496 must meet to be included or excluded as a member of the group of files of interest. Alternatively, certain symbols may be hand-picked. Preliminary research shows that some symbols, while being informationally important, represent little more than standard boilerplate and might be best ignored during further iterative subgroupings. One example is standard boilerplate information that is related to XML tags or HTML tags. If this information is known, symbols that match the information could be intentionally omitted from consideration in the filter design.

It should be appreciated that since a file's digital spectrum is created without regard to the type of information contained in the file, it applies equally to digital information of files of any type, for example, text, audio, image, data, .pdf, .xls, .ppt, foreign language, etc. In turn, application of a file's grouping and differentiating can be applied across vastly differing technologies. Early possibilities considered by the inventor include, but are not limited to, automated organization of unstructured data based on underlying content (not metadata), research applications, forensic searches, etc.

The foregoing has been described in terms of specific embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additional embodiments are possible without departing from its teachings. This detailed description, therefore, and particularly the specific details of the exemplary embodiments disclosed, is given primarily for clarity of understanding, and no unnecessary limitations are to be implied, for modifications will become evident to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Relatively apparent modifications, of course, include combining the various features of one or more figures with the features of one or more of the other figures. 

1. In a computing system environment, a method of identifying a subset of symbols from a group of symbols which most effectively characterize a group of files of a plurality of files stored on one or more computing devices, each file of said group of files having a plurality of symbols forming at least a portion of the group of symbols and representing an underlying data stream of original bits of data, comprising: determining an amount of information represented by each symbol of said group of symbols; and calculating a variance for said each symbol of said group of symbols.
 2. The method of claim 1, further including ordering said group of symbols based on said amount of information before calculating the variance of said each symbol of said group of symbols.
 3. The method of claim 1, further including ordering said group of symbols based on said variance before determining the amount of information represented by said each symbol of said group of symbols.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further includes determining a per file amount of information represented by said each symbol of said group of symbols for said group of files, and summing said per file amount of information for said each symbol of said group of symbols for said group of files.
 5. The method of claim 4, further including ordering said group of symbols based on said summed per file amount of information.
 6. The method of claim 5, further including selecting a portion of said ordered symbols for use in the calculating, wherein said selected portion of said ordered symbols represents substantially between 80%-99% of a total amount of information within said group of files.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said selected portion of said ordered symbols represents substantially 90% of said total amount of information within said group of files.
 8. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining said amount of information includes determining a per file amount of information represented by said each symbol of said group of symbols for said group of files by multiplying a determined number of occurrences for said each symbol of said group of symbols by a corresponding bit length of said original bits of data represented by said each symbol, and dividing by a total of said original bits of data for each file.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining further includes summing said per file amount of information for each symbol of said group of symbols for said group of files.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the ordering is based on said summed amount of information.
 11. The method of claim 2, wherein the calculating further includes selecting a portion of said ordered symbols and determining a mean and a standard deviation from said mean for each symbol of said portion of said ordered symbols.
 12. The method of claim 11, where the calculating further includes ordering said portion of said ordered symbols based on said.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the identified subset of symbols from said group of symbols includes substantially 10% of said ordered portion of said ordered symbols.
 14. The method of claim 1, further including identifying at least one additional file of said plurality of files stored on said one or more computing devices based on said determined amount of information and said calculated variance.
 15. The method of claim 2, further including filtering said plurality of files stored on one or more computing devices utilizing said subset of symbols from said group of symbols which most effectively characterize said group of files.
 16. In a computing system environment, a method of identifying a subset of symbols from a group of symbols which most effectively characterize a group of files of a plurality of files stored on one or more computing devices, each file of said plurality of files having a plurality of symbols forming at least a portion of the group of symbols and representing an underlying data stream of original bits of data, comprising: identifying said group of files of said plurality of files; determining an amount of information represented by each symbol of said group of symbols; ordering said group of symbols based on said amount of information; and calculating a variance for a portion of said ordered symbols.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the identifying includes grouping said plurality of files into a plurality of common groups of files.
 18. The method of claim 17, further including selecting said group of files of said plurality of files from said plurality of common groups of files.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the identifying includes compressing each file of said plurality of files, and grouping said each file into a plurality of common groups of files.
 20. The method of claim 19, further including selecting said group of files of said plurality of files from said plurality of common groups of files.
 21. The method of claim 16, wherein the identifying includes compressing individually each file of said plurality of files, the compressing generating a plurality of dictionaries one each for said each file, converting said pluralities of dictionaries into a single dictionary having fewer entries than a combined number of entries for said plurality of dictionaries, generating a digital spectrum in a multi-dimensional space using only said single dictionary, using said generated digital spectrum to find closest other files in said multi-dimensional space, and grouping said each file into a plurality of common groups of files.
 22. The method of claim 16, wherein the determining further includes determining a per file amount of information represented by each symbol of said group of symbols for said group of files, and summing said per file amount of information for said each symbol of said group of symbols for said group of files, and wherein the ordering is based on said summed amount of information.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the calculating further includes determining a mean and a standard deviation from said mean for each symbol of said portion of said ordered symbols, and wherein the calculating further includes ordering said portion of said ordered symbols based on said variance.
 24. A computer program product having executable instructions for loading on a computing device that undertake the method of claim
 1. 25. A computer program product having executable instructions for loading on a computing device that undertake the method of claim
 16. 